catflap.org Online Dictionary Query

  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]

  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.
  
     2. A beam or ray of light. ``Sun streams.'' --Chaucer.
  
     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.
  
     4. A continued current or course; as, a stream of weather.
        ``The very stream of his life.'' --Shak.
  
     5. Current; drift; tendency; series of tending or moving
        causes; as, the stream of opinions or manners.
  
     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.