Etymology

From Latin torrēns ‎(“rushing”, “torrential”), present active participle of torreō ‎(“I scorch, burn, parch”), from Proto-Italic *torzeō, causative of the Proto-Indo-European root *ters- ‎(“dry”).
Surface analysis: torrent ‎(“torrent”, “stream”) +‎ -iel ‎(derivational suffix)