English
flume
Flume comes from Old French flum ‘river’, and goes back to Latin fluō ‘to flow, stream, pour’.
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEfluō‘to flow, stream, pour’
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEflūmen‘a river’
- Old Frenchc. 842–1400flum‘river’
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500same form‘a river or watercourse’
- Englishearliest quotation 1898flume
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed
Earlier history uncertain.
Lineage
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEfluō‘to flow, stream, pour’
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEflūmen‘a river’
- Old Frenchc. 842–1400flum‘river’
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500same form‘a river or watercourse’
- Englishearliest quotation 1898flume
Earliest quotation: 1898, Recreation: “Near the upper end of the portage the river…”
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *bʰluH-yé-ti
through Latin fluō ‘to flow, stream, pour’
influence, fluid, influx, fluent, flux, confluence, fluctuate, fluctuation, fluency, affluence, fluorine, fluvial, fluorite, fluor, 26 more
Today it means
noun A ravine or gorge, usually one with water running through.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Latin fluō / flume