torrent

C2+ Topic:Materials & Substances

US /ˈtɔrənt/ UK /ˈtɒrənt/ See IPA manual

Meanings

1

noun
a strong, fast-moving stream of water or other liquid

A torrent of rainwater rushed down the gutter.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

1 noun · a strong, fast-moving... flood deluge cascade stream spate rush cataract flow

Opposites

trickle drip drizzle

Word family

Derived forms torrential torrentially

Related forms torrid

Simplified etymology

Torrent entered English in the late Middle English period and ultimately comes from Latin torrere, “to parch, scorch, or dry up.” Its sense of a rapidly rushing stream evokes water that appears to boil.

Etymology

From French torrent, from Latin torrēns ('rushing stream', literally 'burning, boiling'), the present participle of torrēre ('to parch, burn').

torrēns Latin torrēre Latin *ters- Proto-Indo-European

View etymology graph ->

Topics

Materials & Substances Word Formation & Derivatives

External links

# torrent

**Type:** Word
**Level:** C2+
**Part of speech:** noun
**IPA (US):** /ˈtɔrənt/
**IPA (UK):** /ˈtɒrənt/

## Meanings
1. a strong, fast-moving stream of water or other liquid

## Examples
- A torrent of rainwater rushed down the gutter.

## Synonyms
- flood
- deluge
- cascade
- stream
- spate
- rush
- cataract
- flow

## Antonyms
- trickle
- drip
- drizzle

## Derived Forms
- torrential
- torrentially

## Related Forms
- torrid

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: torrēns
- Root: torrēre
- Root: *ters-

## Etymology
From French torrent, from Latin torrēns ('rushing stream', literally 'burning, boiling'), the present participle of torrēre ('to parch, burn').

## AI Etymology
Torrent comes from French torrent, from Latin torrēns ('rushing stream', literally 'burning, boiling'), the present participle of torrēre ('to parch, burn'). The historical chain includes Latin torrēns, Latin torrēre, and Proto-Indo-European *ters-. The quoted older senses, "rushing stream", "burning, boiling", and "to parch, burn", supply the semantic anchors for torrent. The formation is best read as participial and borrowed: the word torrent carries its older form-history into a compact English lexical shape. In present English it is used as a noun, "a strong, fast-moving stream of water or other liquid". English derivatives include torrential and torrentially; related English forms include torrid. The result is a noun whose etymology preserves both the older form and the later English specialization.

## Topics
- Materials & Substances
- Word Formation & Derivatives

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