flow
Language: English
Part of speech: verb
Pronunciation: enpr: flō
ipa: /fləʊ/
ipa: /floʊ/
homophone: floe
homophone: Flo
rhymes: -əʊ
Forms: form: flows
form: flowing
form: flowed
form: flowed
Etymology: From Middle English flowen, from Old English flōwan (“to flow”), from Proto-West Germanic *flōan, from Proto-Germanic *flōaną (“to flow”), from Proto-Indo-European *plōw-, lengthened o-grade form of *plew- (“to fly, flow, run”).
Cognate with Saterland Frisian flouje (“to flow”), West Frisian floeie (“to flow”), Dutch vloeien (“to flow”), Norwegian flo (“to flow”). Compare also English float. Not cognate with Latin fluō despite similarity.
Senses: examples: text: Rivers flow from springs and lakes.
text: Tears flow from the eyes.
text: Wrex: I need to get my blood flowing. Find me something to kill!
ref: 2008, BioWare, Mass Effect (Science Fiction), Redwood City: Electronic Arts, →ISBN, →OCLC, PC:
glosses: To move as a fluid from one position to another.
examples: text: Wealth flows from industry and economy.
text: Those thousand decencies that daily flow / From all her words and actions.
ref: 1667, John Milton, “Book VII”, in Paradise Lost. […], London: […] [Samuel Simmons], and are to be sold by Peter Parker […]; [a]nd by Robert Boulter […]; [a]nd Matthias Walker, […], →OCLC; republished as Paradise Lost in Ten Books: […], London: Basil Montagu Pickering […], 1873, →OCLC:
glosses: To proceed; to issue forth; to emanate.
examples: text: The writing is grammatically correct, but it just doesn't flow.
text: Virgil […] is […]sweet and flowing in his hexameters.
ref: 1697, Virgil, “Dedication”, in John Dryden, transl., The Works of Virgil: Containing His Pastorals, Georgics, and Æneis. […], London: […] Jacob Tonson, […], →OCLC:
glosses: To move or match smoothly, gracefully, or continuously.
examples: text: […] in that day[…] the hils shall flow with milke[…]
ref: 1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], →OCLC, Joel 3:18:
text: the exhilaration of a night that needed not the influence of the flowing bowl
ref: 1845, John Wilson, The Genius and Character of Robert Burns:
glosses: To have or be in abundance; to abound, so as to run or flow over.
examples: text: a flowing mantle
text: flowing locks
text: […]the imperial purple flowing in his train.
ref: 1788, Publius [pseudonym; Alexander Hamilton], “Number LXVII”, in The Federalist: A Collection of Essays, Written in Favour of the New Constitution, […] , volume II, New York, N.Y.: […] J. and A. M‘Lean, […], →OCLC, page 222:
glosses: To hang loosely and wave.
examples: text: The tide flows twice in twenty-four hours.
text: The river hath thrice flowed, no ebb between.
ref: c. 1596–1599 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Second Part of Henry the Fourth, […]. Epilogue.”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act IV, scene iii]:
synonyms: come in
come up
glosses: To rise, as the tide; opposed to ebb.
topics: computing
engineering
mathematics
natural-sciences
physical-sciences
sciences
glosses: To arrange (text in a wordprocessor, etc.) so that it wraps neatly into a designated space; to reflow.
examples: text: The action is usually progressive, and as a certain amount of oil is flowed from the tubing it lowers the pressure on the remaining oil and liberates more gas, thus causing additional oil to flow from the tubing.
ref: 1932, Carl Ernest Reistle, Paraffin and Congealing-Oil Problems, volumes 340-349, page 45:
glosses: To allow (a liquid) to flow.
glosses: To cover with water or other liquid; to overflow; to inundate; to flood.
glosses: To cover with varnish.
glosses: To discharge excessive blood from the uterus.
Synonyms: word: course
word: flit
word: flow
word: flux
word: fly
word: fountain
word: glide
word: gush
word: leak
word: run
word: rush
word: slide
word: slip
word: spew
word: spout
word: stream
Hypernyms: word: motion
Derived terms: flowable
reflowable
flow out
free-flowing
full-flowing
get one's juices flowing
overflow
underflow