- Stream
- Stream Stream (str[=e]m), n. [AS. stre['a]m; akin to OFries.
str[=a]m, OS. str[=o]m, D. stroom, G. strom, OHG. stroum,
str[=u]m, Dan. & Sw. str["o]m, Icel. straumr, Ir. sroth,
Lith. srove, Russ. struia, Gr. "ry`sis a flowing, "rei^n to
flow, Skr. sru. [root]174. Cf. {Catarrh}, {Diarrhea},
{Rheum}, {Rhythm}.]
1. A current of water or other fluid; a liquid flowing
continuously in a line or course, either on the earth, as
a river, brook, etc., or from a vessel, reservoir, or
fountain; specifically, any course of running water; as,
many streams are blended in the Mississippi; gas and steam
came from the earth in streams; a stream of molten lead
from a furnace; a stream of lava from a volcano.
[1913 Webster]
2. A beam or ray of light. ``Sun streams.'' --Chaucer. [1913 Webster]
3. Anything issuing or moving with continued succession of parts; as, a stream of words; a stream of sand. ``The stream of beneficence.'' --Atterbury. ``The stream of emigration.'' --Macaulay. [1913 Webster]
4. A continued current or course; as, a stream of weather. ``The very stream of his life.'' --Shak. [1913 Webster]
5. Current; drift; tendency; series of tending or moving causes; as, the stream of opinions or manners. [1913 Webster]
{Gulf stream}. See under {Gulf}.
{Stream anchor}, {Stream cable}. (Naut.) See under {Anchor}, and {Cable}.
{Stream ice}, blocks of ice floating in a mass together in some definite direction.
{Stream tin}, particles or masses of tin ore found in alluvial ground; -- so called because a stream of water is the principal agent used in separating the ore from the sand and gravel.
{Stream works} (Cornish Mining), a place where an alluvial deposit of tin ore is worked. --Ure.
{To float with the stream}, figuratively, to drift with the current of opinion, custom, etc., so as not to oppose or check it. [1913 Webster]
Syn: Current; flow; rush; tide; course.
Usage: {Stream}, {Current}. These words are often properly interchangeable; but stream is the broader word, denoting a prevailing onward course. The stream of the Mississippi rolls steadily on to the Gulf of Mexico, but there are reflex currents in it which run for a while in a contrary direction. [1913 Webster]
The Collaborative International Dictionary of English. 2000.
