Definify.com

Webster 1913 Edition


Current

Cur′rent

(k?r′rent)
,
Adj.
[OE.
currant
, OF.
curant
,
corant
, p. pr. of
curre
,
corre
, F.
courre
,
courir
, to run, from L.
currere
; perh. akin to E.
horse
. Cf.
Course
,
Concur
,
Courant
,
Coranto
.]
1.
Running or moving rapidly.
[Archaic]
Like the
current
fire, that renneth
Upon a cord.
Gower.
To chase a creature that was
current
then
In these wild woods, the hart with golden horns.
Tennyson.
2.
Now passing, as time;
as, the
current
month
.
3.
Passing from person to person, or from hand to hand; circulating through the community; generally received; common;
as, a
current
coin; a
current
report;
current
history
.
That there was
current
money in Abraham’s time is past doubt.
Arbuthnot.
Your fire-new stamp of honor is scarce
current
.
Shakespeare
His
current
value, which is less or more as men have occasion for him.
Grew.
4.
Commonly estimated or acknowledged.
5.
Fitted for general acceptance or circulation; authentic; passable.
O Buckingham, now do I play the touch
To try if thou be
current
gold indeed.
Shakespeare
Account current
.
See under
Account
.
Current money
,
lawful money.
Abbott.

Cur′rent

,
Noun.
[Cf. F.
courant
. See
Current
,
Adj.
]
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
.
Two such silver
currents
, when they join,
Do glorify the banks that bound them in.
Shakespeare
The surface of the ocean is furrowed by
currents
, whose direction . . . the navigator should know.
Nichol.
2.
General course; ordinary procedure; progressive and connected movement;
as, the
current
of time, of events, of opinion, etc.
Syn. – Stream; course. See
Stream
.

Webster 1828 Edition


Current

CURRENT

,
Adj.
[L., to flow or run.]
1.
Literally, flowing, running, passing. Hence, passing from person to person, or from hand to hand; circulating; as current opinions; current coin. Hence, common, general or fashionable; generally received; popular; as the current notions of the day or age; current folly.
2.
Established by common estimation; generally received; as the current value of coin.
3.
Passable; that may be allowed or admitted.
4.
Now passing; present in its course; as the current month or year.

CURRENT

,
Noun.
1.
A flowing or passing; a stream; applied to fluids; as a current of water, or of air. The gulf stream is a remarkable current in the Atlantic. A current sets into the Mediterranean.
2.
Course; progressive motion, or movement; continuation; as the current of time.
3.
A connected series; successive course; as the current of events.
4.
General or main course; as the current of opinion.

Definition 2024


current

current

English

Noun

current (plural currents)

  1. The part of a fluid that moves continuously in a certain direction.
  2. (electricity) The time rate of flow of electric charge.
    • Symbol: I (inclined upper case letter "I")
    • Units:
    SI: ampere (A)
    CGS: esu/second (esu/s)
  3. A tendency or a course of events.

Synonyms

Derived terms

Translations

Adjective

current (comparative currenter or more current, superlative currentest or most current)

  1. Existing or occurring at the moment.
    • 2013 July 19, Timothy Garton Ash, Where Dr Pangloss meets Machiavelli”, in The Guardian Weekly, volume 189, number 6, page 18:
      Hidden behind thickets of acronyms and gorse bushes of detail, a new great game is under way across the globe. Some call it geoeconomics, but it's geopolitics too. The current power play consists of an extraordinary range of countries simultaneously sitting down to negotiate big free trade and investment agreements.
    current events;  current leaders;  current negotiations
  2. Generally accepted, used, practiced, or prevalent at the moment.
    • Arbuthnot
      That there was current money in Abraham's time is past doubt.
    • 2013 June 22, T time”, in The Economist, volume 407, number 8841, page 68:
      The ability to shift profits to low-tax countries by locating intellectual property in them [] is often assumed to be the preserve of high-tech companies. [] current tax rules make it easy for all sorts of firms to generate [] “stateless income”: profit subject to tax in a jurisdiction that is neither the location of the factors of production that generate the income nor where the parent firm is domiciled.
    current affairs;  current bills and coins;  current fashions
  3. (obsolete) Running or moving rapidly.
    • Gower
      Like the current fire, that renneth / Upon a cord.
    • Tennyson
      To chase a creature that was current then / In these wild woods, the hart with golden horns.

Synonyms

Antonyms

Derived terms

Translations


Latin

Verb

current

  1. third-person plural future active indicative of currō