Definify.com
Webster 1913 Edition
Liquid
Liq′uid
(lĭk′wĭd)
, Adj.
[L.
liquidus
, fr. liquere
to be fluid or liquid; cf. Skr. rī
to ooze, drop, lī
to melt.] 1.
Flowing freely like water; fluid; not solid.
Yea, though he go upon the plane and
liquid
water which will receive no step. Tyndale.
3.
Flowing or sounding smoothly or without abrupt transitions or harsh tones.
“Liquid melody.” Crashaw.
4.
Pronounced without any jar or harshness; smooth;
as,
. l
and r
are liquid
lettersLiq′uid
,Noun.
1.
A substance whose parts change their relative position on the slightest pressure, and therefore retain no definite form; any substance in the state of liquidity; a fluid that is not gaseous and has a definite volume independent, of the container in which it is held. Liquids have a fixed volume at any given pressure, but their shape is determined by the container in which it is contained. Liquids, in contrast to gases, cannot expand indefinitely to fill an expanding container, and are only slightly compressible by application of pressure.
☞ Liquid and fluid are terms often used synonymously, but fluid has the broader signification. All liquids are fluids, but many fluids, as air and the gases, are not liquids.
2.
(Phon.)
A letter which has a smooth, flowing sound, or which flows smoothly after a mute;
as,
. M and n also are called liquids. l
and r
, in bla
, bra
Liquid measure
, a measure, or system of measuring, for liquids, by the gallon, quart, pint, gill, etc.
Webster 1828 Edition
Liquid
LIQ'UID
,Adj.
1.
Fluid; flowing or capable of flowing; not fixed or solid. But liquid is not precisely synonymous with fluid. Mercury and air are fluid, but not liquid.2.
Soft; clear; flowing; smooth; as liquid melody.3.
Pronounced without any jar; smooth; as a liquid letter.4.
Dissolved; not obtainable by law; as a liquid debt. Obs.LIQ'UID
, n.1.
A fluid or flowing substance; a substance whose parts change their relative position on the slightest pressure, and which flows on an inclined plane; as water, wine, milk, &c.2.
In grammar, a letter which has a smooth flowing sound, or which flows smoothly after a mute; as l and r, in bla, bra. M and n are also called liquids.Definition 2024
liquid
liquid
See also: líquid
English
A liquid—water—flowing out of a bottle
Noun
liquid (countable and uncountable, plural liquids)
- A substance that is flowing, and keeping no shape, such as water; a substance of which the molecules, while not tending to separate from one another like those of a gas, readily change their relative position, and which therefore retains no definite shape, except that determined by the containing receptacle; an inelastic fluid.
- 2013 August 3, “Yesterday’s fuel”, in The Economist, volume 408, number 8847:
- The dawn of the oil age was fairly recent. Although the stuff was used to waterproof boats in the Middle East 6,000 years ago, extracting it in earnest began only in 1859 after an oil strike in Pennsylvania. […] It was used to make kerosene, the main fuel for artificial lighting after overfishing led to a shortage of whale blubber. Other liquids produced in the refining process, too unstable or smoky for lamplight, were burned or dumped.
- A liquid can freeze to become a solid or evaporate into a gas.
-
- (phonetics) A class of consonant sounds that includes l and r.
- 1999, Ingo Plag, Morphological Productivity (page 86)
- […] -able does not attach to verbs ending in a postconsonantal liquid […]
- 1999, Ingo Plag, Morphological Productivity (page 86)
Usage notes
The differentiation of a liquid as an incompressible fluid is not strictly correct, experiment having shown that liquids are compressible to a very limited extent. See fluid.
Coordinate terms
Related terms
Translations
substance that is liquid
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l or r sound
See also
Adjective
liquid (comparative more liquid, superlative most liquid)
- Flowing freely like water; fluid; not solid and not gaseous; composed of particles that move freely among each other on the slightest pressure.
- liquid nitrogen
- (finance, of an asset) Easily sold or disposed of without losing value.
- (finance, of a market) Having sufficient trading activity to make buying or selling easy.
- Flowing or sounding smoothly or without abrupt transitions or harsh tones.
- a liquid melody
- (phonology) Pronounced without any jar or harshness; smooth.
- L and R are liquid letters.
- Fluid and transparent.
- the liquid air
Antonyms
Related terms
Related terms
Translations
fluid; not solid and not gaseous
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(of an asset) easily sold or disposed of
(of a market) having sufficient trading activity to make buying or selling easy