Definify.com
Webster 1913 Edition
Flow
Flow
(flō)
, Verb.
I.
[
imp. & p. p.
Flowed
(flōd)
; p. pr. & vb. n.
Flowing
.] [AS.
flōwan
; akin to D. vloeijen
, OHG. flawen
to wash, Icel. flōa
to deluge, Gr. πλώειν
to float, sail, and prob. ultimately to E. float
, fleet
. √80. Cf. Flood
.] 1.
To move with a continual change of place among the particles or parts, as a fluid; to change place or circulate, as a liquid;
as, rivers
flow
from springs and lakes; tears flow
from the eyes.2.
To become liquid; to melt.
The mountains
flowed
down at thy presence. Is. lxiv. 3.
3.
To proceed; to issue forth;
as, wealth
. flows
from industry and economyThose thousand decencies that daily
From all her words and actions.
flow
From all her words and actions.
Milton.
4.
To glide along smoothly, without harshness or asperties;
as, a
; to sound smoothly to the ear; to be uttered easily. flowing
period; flowing
numbersVirgil is sweet and
flowing
in his hexameters. Dryden.
5.
To have or be in abundance; to abound; to full, so as to run or flow over; to be copious.
In that day . . . the hills shall
flow
with milk. Joel iii. 18.
The exhilaration of a night that needed not the influence of the
flowing
bowl. Prof. Wilson.
6.
To hang loose and waving;
as, a
flowing
mantle; flowing
locks.The imperial purple
flowing
in his train. A. Hamilton.
7.
To rise, as the tide; – opposed to ebb;
as, the tide
. flows
twice in twenty-four hoursThe river hath thrice
flowed
, no ebb between. Shakespeare
8.
To discharge blood in excess from the uterus.
Flow
,Verb.
T.
1.
To cover with water or other liquid; to overflow; to inundate; to flood.
2.
To cover with varnish.
Flow
,Noun.
1.
A stream of water or other fluid; a current;
as, a
flow
of water; a flow
of blood.2.
A continuous movement of something abundant;
as, a
. flow
of words3.
Any gentle, gradual movement or procedure of thought, diction, music, or the like, resembling the quiet, steady movement of a river; a stream.
The feast of reason and the
flow
of soul. Pope.
4.
The tidal setting in of the water from the ocean to the shore. See
Ebb and flow
, under Ebb
. 5.
A low-lying piece of watery land; – called also
flow moss
and flow bog
. [Scot.]
Jamieson.
Webster 1828 Edition
Flow
FLOW
,Verb.
I.
1.
To move along an inclined plane, or on descending ground, by the operation of gravity, and with a continual change of place among the particles or parts, as a fluid. A solid body descends or moves in mass, as a ball or a wheel; but in the flowing of liquid substances, and others consisting of very fine particles, there is a constant change of the relative position of some parts of the substance, as in the case with a stream of water, of quicksilver, and of sand. Particles at the bottom and sides of the stream, being somewhat checked by friction, move slower than those in the middle and near the surface of the current. Rivers flow from springs and lakes; tears flow from the eyes.2.
To melt; to become liquid.That the mountains might flow down at they presence.
Is. 64.
3.
To proceed; to issue. Evils flow from different sources. Wealth flows from industry and economy. All our blessings flow from divine bounty4.
To abound; to have in abundance.In that day the mountains shall drop down new wine, and the hills shall flow with milk. Joel 3.
5.
To be full; to be copious; as flowing cups or goblets.6.
To glide along smoothly, without harshness or asperity; as a flowing period; flowing numbers.7.
To be smooth, as composition or utterance. The orator has a flowing tongue.Virgil is sweet and flowing in his hexameters.
8.
To hang loose and waving; as a flowing mantle; flowing locks.The imperial purple flowing in his train.
9.
To rise, as the tide; opposed to ebb. The tide flows twice in twenty four hours.10.
To move in the arteries and veins of the body; to circulate, as blood.11.
To issue, as rays or beams of light.Light flows from the sun.
12.
To move in a stream, as air.FLOW
,Verb.
T.