sē|erə|zem noun
or ser·o·zem |ser-
( -s )
Etymology: Russian serozem, from seryĭ gray + zemlya earth; akin to Lithuanian žemė earth, Latin humus — more at humble
: any of a group of zonal soils that are brownish gray at the surface and lighter colored below, based in a carbonate layer or a hardpan layer, and characteristic of temperate to cool arid regions with mixed shrub vegetation