siphon

Meanings

1. 1
   noun

   a bent tube used to move liquid from a higher container to a lower one through continuous flow

   A flexible siphon carried the fuel from the raised tank into the can.

2. 2
   noun

   a sealed bottle or device that dispenses carbonated water under pressure

   He brought a soda siphon and a bottle of whiskey from the dining room.

3. 3
   verb

   to draw off or transfer liquid through a siphon, or to divert something gradually as if doing so

   Someone had siphoned money from the account over several months.

Via French siphon and Latin sipho from Ancient Greek siphon ("pipe, tube"), a word of uncertain deeper origin. Syphon is a long-established chiefly British spelling. The figurative verb sense extends the idea of quietly drawing liquid away through a tube.

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