from
The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48
Current \Cur"rent\, n. [Cf. F. courant. See {Current}, a. ]
[1913 Webster]
1. A flowing or passing; onward motion. Hence: A body of
fluid moving continuously in a certain direction; a
stream; esp., the swiftest part of it; as, a current of
water or of air; that which resembles a stream in motion;
as, a current of electricity.
[1913 Webster]
Two such silver currents, when they join,
Do glorify the banks that bound them in. --Shak.
[1913 Webster]
The surface of the ocean is furrowed by currents,
whose direction . . . the navigator should know.
--Nichol.
[1913 Webster]
2. General course; ordinary procedure; progressive and
connected movement; as, the current of time, of events, of
opinion, etc.
[1913 Webster]
{Current meter}, an instrument for measuring the velocity,
force, etc., of currents.
{Current mill}, a mill driven by a current wheel.
{Current wheel}, a wheel dipping into the water and driven by
the current of a stream or by the ebb and flow of the
tide.
Syn: Stream; course. See {Stream}.
[1913 Webster]