flow English · revision 3945

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=inherited|attested=before 830|origins=ine-pro *pleu-}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: UK /fləʊ/, US /floʊ/^(Roach et al. 2011)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[inh|enm|flowen]],^(MWU 2024) [[inh|ang|flōwan|t=to flow, stream, issue; become liquid, melt; abound]],^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988) a strong verb,^(Etymonline)^(Hoad 1986) from [[gem-pro|*flōaną|alt=*flowan|t=to flow]],^(Etymonline) the source also of Middle Dutch vloyen, Dutch vloeien, Old Norse flóa “to deluge” and Old High German flouwen “to rinse, wash”,^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988) from [[ine-pro|*pleu-|t=to flow]].^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988) Outside Germanic it is cognate with Latin pluere “to rain”, Greek plein “to sail, float”, Lithuanian pláuti “to wash” and Sanskrit plavate “swims”.^(Barnhart 1988)^(MWU 2024) The noun is from the verb.^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988) It is related to [[flood]], [[float]] and [[fleet]].^(Hoad 1986)^(NODE 1998)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ Old English flōwan is recorded before 830, and its past tense fleow probably about 750.^(Barnhart 1988)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ The weak past tense flowed prevailed from the 14th century,^(Etymonline)^(Hoad 1986) but the strong participle flown is occasionally attested until the 18th century.^(Etymonline)^(SOED 2002) The noun, “the action of flowing”, is from the mid-15th century^(Etymonline) (before 1450 in the OED).^(OED 1989) The rise of the tide, as in ''ebb and flow'', is from 1583,^(OED 1989) and any continuous movement like that of a river, as a flow of words, from the 1640s.^(Etymonline)^(OED 1989) The quantity that flows is from 1807,^(Etymonline)^(OED 1989) and the gradual deformation of a solid under stress from 1889.^(OED 1989) The ''flow chart'' is from 1920, after ''flow-sheet'' (1912),^(Etymonline) and ''to go with the flow'' is from 1977, apparently from skiing.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * before 830 – Old English flōwan.^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * before 1450 – noun, the act of flowing.^(OED 1989)

+ * 1583 – the incoming tide.^(OED 1989)

+ * 1640s – any steady movement.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1807 – the quantity that flows.^(Etymonline)^(OED 1989)

+ * 1920 – ''flow chart''.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1977 – ''go with the flow''.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Verb===

+ # To move smoothly and continuously, as a [[fluid]] does.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)

+ # To pour out in a stream.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)

+ # To [[circulate]], as blood in the body.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)

+ # To proceed steadily and easily: ''the conversation flowed''.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)

+ # To hang loosely and gracefully, as hair.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)

+ # Of the tide, to rise.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)

+ # To come from a source; to [[derive]].^(MW Collegiate)

+

+ ===Noun===

+ # The act of flowing.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)

+ # A stream, or the amount that flows in a given time.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)

+ # A smooth, continuous movement or progress: ''a flow of ideas''.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)

+ # The rising of the tide.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[flowingly]]

+ * [[flowable]]

+ * [[flowability]]

+ * [[free-flowing]]

+ * [[overflow]]

+ * [[underflow]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[flood]]

+ * [[float]]

+ * [[fleet]]

+ * [[fowl]]

+ * [[pluvial]]

+ * [[influx]]

+

+ ==Usage notes==

+ A different flow, chiefly Scots, means a bog or watery swamp (17th century), perhaps from Old Norse flói, which is related to the verb.^(SOED 2002)^(OED 1989)^(MWU 2024)^(Wright 1898)

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}