Where does “streamflow” come from?
Streamflow derives from English stream and flow, where flow comes from Middle English flowen, Old English flōwan, Proto-Germanic straumaz, and Proto-Indo-European plew-, meaning to flow or stream.
streamflow (English): The runoff of surface water through a channel
Definitions
- The runoff of surface water through a channel
Ancestry of “streamflow”, step by step
streamflow traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.
via English stream
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | stream | A small river; a large creek; a body of moving... |
| 2 | Middle English | streem | Alternative form of strem |
| 3 | Middle English | strem | A waterbody; a region of the world containing... |
| 4 | Old English | strēam | current; stream |
| 5 | Proto-West Germanic | straum | stream |
| 6 | Proto-Germanic | straumaz | stream, current, river |
| 7 | Proto-Indo-European | srowmos | river |
| 8 | Proto-Indo-European | srew- | to flow, stream |
| 9 | Proto-Indo-European | ser- | to flow; to guard; to bind, to tie together |
via English flow
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | flow | A movement in people or things with a particular... |
| 2 | Middle English | flowen | To flow, stream, or issue; to move; To become... |
| 3 | Old English | flōwan | to flow |
| 4 | Proto-West Germanic | *flōan | to flow |
| 5 | Proto-Germanic | flōaną | to flow |
| 6 | Proto-Indo-European | plōw- | to flow, swim; to pour, wash |
| 7 | Proto-Indo-European | plew- | to fly, flow, run |