Definify.com
Webster 1913 Edition
River
Riv′er
,Noun.
One who rives or splits.
Riv′er
,Noun.
1.
A large stream of water flowing in a bed or channel and emptying into the ocean, a sea, a lake, or another stream; a stream larger than a rivulet or brook.
Transparent and sparkling
rivers
, from which it is delightful to drink as they flow. Macaulay.
2.
Fig.: A large stream; copious flow; abundance;
as,
. rivers
of blood; rivers
of oilRiver chub
(Zool.)
, the hornyhead and allied species of fresh-water fishes.
– River crab
(Zool.)
, any species of fresh-water crabs of the genus
– Thelphusa
, as Thelphusa depressa
of Southern Europe. River dragon
, a crocodile; – applied by Milton to the king of Egypt.
– River driver
, a lumberman who drives or conducts logs down rivers.
Bartlett.
– River duck
(Zool.)
, any species of duck belonging to
– Anas
, Spatula
, and allied genera, in which the hind toe is destitute of a membranous lobe, as in the mallard and pintail; – opposed to sea duck. River god
, a deity supposed to preside over a river as its tutelary divinity.
– River herring
(Zool.)
, an alewife.
– River hog
. (Zool.)
(a)
Any species of African wild hogs of the genus
Potamochœrus
. They frequent wet places along the rivers. (b)
The capybara.
– River horse
(Zool.)
, the hippopotamus.
– River jack
(Zool.)
, an African puff adder (
– Clotho nasicornis
) having a spine on the nose. River limpet
(Zool.)
, a fresh-water, air-breathing mollusk of the genus
– Ancylus
, having a limpet-shaped shell. River pirate
(Zool.)
, the pike.
– River snail
(Zool.)
, any species of fresh-water gastropods of
– Paludina
, Melontho
, and allied genera. See Pond snail
, under Pond
. River tortoise
(Zool.)
, any one of numerous fresh-water tortoises inhabiting rivers, especially those of the genus
Trionyx
and allied genera. See Trionyx
.Riv′er
,Verb.
I.
To hawk by the side of a river; to fly hawks at river fowl.
[Obs.]
Halliwell.
Webster 1828 Edition
River
RI'VER
,Noun.
Definition 2024
River
River
See also: river
English
Proper noun
River
- A male given name.
- A female given name.
- 2002 December 13, Joss Whedon, Firefly, season 1, episode 14, Objects in Space:
- Wash: Little River gets more colorful by the moment. What'll she do next?
- Zoe: Either blow us all up or rub soup in our hair. It's a toss-up.
- Wash: I hope she does the soup thing, it's always a hoot and we don't all die from it.
- 2011 April 30, Steven Moffat, Doctor Who, series 6, episode 2, Day of the Moon:
- The Doctor: Oh, this is my friend River. Nice hair, clever, and has her own gun. And unlike me, she really doesn't mind shooting people. I shouldn't like that. Kinda do, a bit.
- 2002 December 13, Joss Whedon, Firefly, season 1, episode 14, Objects in Space:
- (rare) A surname.
river
river
See also: River
English
A river
Pronunciation
- (Received Pronunciation) IPA(key): /ˈɹɪvə/
- (General American) IPA(key): /ˈɹɪvɚ/
- Rhymes: -ɪvə(ɹ)
- Hyphenation: riv‧er
Noun
river (plural rivers)
- A large and often winding stream which drains a land mass, carrying water down from higher areas to a lower point, ending at an ocean or in an inland sea.
- 1908, Kenneth Grahame, The Wind in the Willows
- By the side of the river he trotted as one trots, when very small, by the side of a man who holds one spell-bound by exciting stories; and when tired at last, he sat on the bank, while the river still chattered on to him, a babbling procession of the best stories in the world, sent from the heart of the earth to be told at last to the insatiable sea.
- 2013 June 29, “High and wet”, in The Economist, volume 407, number 8842, page 28:
- Floods in northern India, mostly in the small state of Uttarakhand, have wrought disaster on an enormous scale. The early, intense onset of the monsoon on June 14th swelled rivers, washing away roads, bridges, hotels and even whole villages. Rock-filled torrents smashed vehicles and homes, burying victims under rubble and sludge.
- Occasionally rivers overflow their banks and cause floods.
- 1908, Kenneth Grahame, The Wind in the Willows
- Any large flow of a liquid in a single body.
- a river of blood
- (poker) The last card dealt in a hand.
Usage notes
- As with the names of lakes and mountains, the names of rivers are typically formed by adding the word before or after the unique term: the River Thames or the Yangtze River. Generally speaking, names formed using adjectives or attributives see river added to the end, as with the Yellow River. It is less common to add river before names than it is with lakes, but many the rivers of Britain are written that way, as with the River Severn; indeed, British English tends to use "River X" in such cases while American and Australian English use "X River". The former derives from the earlier but now uncommon form river of ~: the 19th century River of Jordan is now usually simply the River Jordan.
- It is common to preface the proper names of rivers with the article the.
Derived terms
Terms derived from river (etymology 1, noun)
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- Look at pages starting with river.
Translations
large stream which drains a landmass
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any large flow of a liquid
See also
- Category:Rivers
Verb
river (third-person singular simple present rivers, present participle rivering, simple past and past participle rivered)
- (poker) To improve one’s hand to beat another player on the final card in a poker game.
- Johnny rivered me by drawing that ace of spades.
Etymology 2
Pronunciation
- (Received Pronunciation) IPA(key): /ˈɹaɪvə/
- (General American) IPA(key): /ˈɹaɪvɚ/
- Rhymes: -aɪvə(ɹ)
Noun
river (plural rivers)
References
- river in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, G. & C. Merriam, 1913
Statistics
French
Etymology
From a Germanic source, Danish rive
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /ʁi.ve/
Verb
river
- to drive/set a rivet
Related terms
Conjugation
Conjugation of river (see also Appendix:French verbs)
| simple | compound | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| infinitive | river | avoir rivé | |||||
| gerund | en rivant | en ayant rivé | |||||
| present participle | rivant /ʁi.vɑ̃/ |
||||||
| past participle | rivé /ʁi.ve/ |
||||||
| person | singular | plural | |||||
| first | second | third | first | second | third | ||
| indicative | je (j’) | tu | il | nous | vous | ils | |
| simple tenses |
present | rive /ʁiv/ |
rives /ʁiv/ |
rive /ʁiv/ |
rivons /ʁi.vɔ̃/ |
rivez /ʁi.ve/ |
rivent /ʁiv/ |
| imperfect | rivais /ʁi.vɛ/ |
rivais /ʁi.vɛ/ |
rivait /ʁi.vɛ/ |
rivions /ʁi.vjɔ̃/ |
riviez /ʁi.vje/ |
rivaient /ʁi.vɛ/ |
|
| past historic1 | rivai /ʁi.ve/ |
rivas /ʁi.va/ |
riva /ʁi.va/ |
rivâmes /ʁi.vam/ |
rivâtes /ʁi.vat/ |
rivèrent /ʁi.vɛʁ/ |
|
| future | riverai /ʁi.vʁe/ |
riveras /ʁi.vʁa/ |
rivera /ʁi.vʁa/ |
riverons /ʁi.vʁɔ̃/ |
riverez /ʁi.vʁe/ |
riveront /ʁi.vʁɔ̃/ |
|
| conditional | riverais /ʁi.vʁɛ/ |
riverais /ʁi.vʁɛ/ |
riverait /ʁi.vʁɛ/ |
riverions /ʁi.və.ʁjɔ̃/ |
riveriez /ʁi.və.ʁje/ |
riveraient /ʁi.vʁɛ/ |
|
| compound tenses |
present perfect | Use the present tense of avoir followed by the past participle | |||||
| pluperfect | Use the imperfect tense of avoir followed by the past participle | ||||||
| past anterior1 | Use the past historic tense of avoir followed by the past participle | ||||||
| future perfect | Use the future tense of avoir followed by the past participle | ||||||
| conditional perfect | Use the conditional tense of avoir followed by the past participle | ||||||
| subjunctive | que je (j’) | que tu | qu’il | que nous | que vous | qu’ils | |
| simple tenses |
present | rive /ʁiv/ |
rives /ʁiv/ |
rive /ʁiv/ |
rivions /ʁi.vjɔ̃/ |
riviez /ʁi.vje/ |
rivent /ʁiv/ |
| imperfect1 |
rivasse /ʁi.vas/ |
rivasses /ʁi.vas/ |
rivât /ʁi.va/ |
rivassions /ʁi.va.sjɔ̃/ |
rivassiez /ʁi.va.sje/ |
rivassent /ʁi.vas/ |
|
| compound tenses |
past | Use the present subjunctive tense of avoir followed by the past participle | |||||
| pluperfect1 | Use the imperfect subjunctive tense of avoir followed by the past participle | ||||||
| imperative | – | tu | – | nous | vous | – | |
| — | rive /ʁiv/ |
— | rivons /ʁi.vɔ̃/ |
rivez /ʁi.ve/ |
— | ||
| 1literary tenses | |||||||