Liberal Dictionary English Dictionary
noun
- a freshwater stream flowing into the sea.
- a sudden rise in the level of a stream, or a flood, caused by heavy rains or the rapid melting of snow and ice.
noun
- the sudden overflowing of a river caused by heavy rain or melting snow
- a stream of fresh water emptying into the sea
1590s, “stream flowing into the sea,” from fresh (adj.1) in a now obsolete sense of “flood, stream of fresh water” (1530s). Old English had fersceta in the same sense. Meaning “flood caused by rain or melting snow” is from 1650s.