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Webster 1913 Edition

Flux

Flux

(flŭks)
,
Noun.
[L.
fluxus
, fr.
fluere
,
fluxum
, to flow: cf.F.
flux
. See
Fluent
, and cf. 1st & 2d
Floss
,
Flush
,
Noun.
, 6.]
1.
The act of flowing; a continuous moving on or passing by, as of a flowing stream; constant succession; change.
By the perpetual
flux
of the liquids, a great part of them is thrown out of the body.
Arbuthnot.
Her image has escaped the
flux
of things,
And that same infant beauty that she wore
Is fixed upon her now forevermore.
Trench.
Languages, like our bodies, are in a continual
flux
.
Felton.
2.
The setting in of the tide toward the shore, – the ebb being called the
reflux
.
3.
The state of being liquid through heat; fusion.
4.
(Chem. & Metal.)
Any substance or mixture used to promote the fusion of metals or minerals, as alkalies, borax, lime, fluorite.
☞
White flux
is the residuum of the combustion of a mixture of equal parts of niter and tartar. It consists chiefly of the carbonate of potassium, and is white. –
Black flux
is the ressiduum of the combustion of one part of niter and two of tartar, and consists essentially of a mixture of potassium carbonate and charcoal.
5.
(Med.)
(a)
A fluid discharge from the bowels or other part; especially, an excessive and morbid discharge;
as, the bloody
flux
or dysentery
. See
Bloody flux
.
(b)
The matter thus discharged.
6.
(Physics)
The quantity of a fluid that crosses a unit area of a given surface in a unit of time.

Flux

,
Adj.
[L.
fluxus
, p. p. of
fluere
. See
Flux
,
Noun.
]
Flowing; unstable; inconstant; variable.
The
flux
nature of all things here.
Barrow.

Flux

,
Verb.
T.
[
imp. & p. p.
Fluxed
(flŭkst)
;
p. pr. & vb. n.
Fluxing
.]
1.
To affect, or bring to a certain state, by flux.
He might fashionably and genteelly . . . have been dueled or
fluxed
into another world.
South.
2.
To cause to become fluid; to fuse.
Kirwan.
3.
(Med.)
To cause a discharge from; to purge.

Webster 1828 Edition

Flux

FLUX

,
Noun.
[L. fluxus, fluo, fluxi.]
1.
The act of flowing; the motion or passing of a fluid.
2.
The moving or passing of any thing in continued succession. Things in this life, are in a continual flux.
3.
Any flow or issue of matter. In medicine, an extraordinary issue or evacuation from the bowels or other part; as the bloody flux or dysentery, hepatic flux, &c.
4.
In hydrography, the flow of the tide. The ebb is called reflux.
5.
In metallurgy, any substance or mixture used to promote the fusion of metals or minerals, as alkalies, borax, tartar and other saline matter, or in large operations limestone or fluor. Alkaline fluxes are either the crude, the white or the black flux.
6.
Fusion; a liquid state from the operation of heat.
7.
That which flows or is discharged.
8.
Concourse; confluence. [Little used.]

FLUX

,
Adj.
Flowing; moving; maintained by a constant succession of parts; inconstant; variable. [Not well authorized.]

FLUX

,
Verb.
T.
1.
To melt; to fuse; to make fluid.
One part of mineral alkali will flux two of siliceous earth with effervescence.
2.
To salivate. [Little used.]

Definition 2024

flux

flux

English

Noun

flux ‎(plural fluxes)

  1. The act of flowing; a continuous moving on or passing by, as of a flowing stream.
    • Arbuthnot
      By the perpetual flux of the liquids, a great part of them is thrown out of the body.
    • Mann, H., Fyfe, W., Tazaki, K., & Kerrich, R. (1991). Biological Accumulation of Different Chemical Elements by Microorganisms from Yellowstone National Park, USA. Mechanisms And Phylogeny Of Mineralization In Biological Systems, 357-362.
      Investigation of the silica budget for the Upper and Lower Geyser Basins of Yellowstone National Park by Truesdell et al. suggest that the present fluxes of hotspring water and thermal energy may have been continuous for at least the past 10,000 yr.
  2. A state of ongoing change.
    The schedule is in flux at the moment.
    • Trench
      Her image has escaped the flux of things, / And that same infant beauty that she wore / Is fixed upon her now forevermore.
    • Felton
      Languages, like our bodies, are in a continual flux.
  3. A chemical agent for cleaning metal prior to soldering or welding.
    It is important to use flux when soldering or oxides on the metal will prevent a good bond.
  4. (physics) The rate of transfer of energy (or another physical quantity) through a given surface, specifically electric flux, magnetic flux.
    That high a neutron flux would be lethal in seconds.
  5. (archaic) A disease which causes diarrhea, especially dysentery.
  6. (archaic) Diarrhea or other fluid discharge from the body.
  7. The state of being liquid through heat; fusion.

Antonyms

  • (state of ongoing change): stasis

Derived terms

Translations

Verb

flux ‎(third-person singular simple present fluxes, present participle fluxing, simple past and past participle fluxed)

  1. To use flux.
    You have to flux the joint before soldering.
  2. To melt.
  3. To flow as a liquid.

Related terms

Adjective

flux ‎(not comparable)

  1. (uncommon) Flowing; unstable; inconstant; variable.
    • a. 1677, Isaac Barrow, "On Contentment", Sermon XL, in The Theological Works, Volume 2, Clarendon Press, 1818, page 375:
      The flux nature of all things here.

Related terms

Related terms

Catalan

Noun

flux m ‎(plural fluxos)

  1. flow

French

Etymology

Borrowing from Latin fluxus.

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /fly/

Noun

flux m ‎(plural flux)

  1. flow (the flow of the tide)

Old French

Noun

flux m ‎(oblique plural flux, nominative singular flux, nominative plural flux)

  1. diarrhea (rapid passage of fecal matter through the bowels)

Romanian

Etymology

Borrowing from French flux.

Noun

flux n ‎(plural fluxuri)

  1. flow (the flow of the tide)

Declension

Etymology

From Old French flux, from Latin fluxus ‎(“flow”).

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /flʌks/
  • Rhymes: -ʌks

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