. (Elec.) A current which periodically changes or reverses its direction of flow, especially an electric current that reverses direction sinusoidally, as is used for most domestic and industrial power requirements. Contrasted with direct curent.
Syn. -- AC [ Webster 1913 Suppl. +PJC ]

The common household current is alternating. Alternating current is easier than direct current to transform to high voltage and back, making long-distance transmission more efficient. [ PJC ]

a. [ F. concurrent, L. concurrens, p. pr. of concurrere. ] 1. Acting in conjunction; agreeing in the same act or opinion; contributing to the same event or effect; cooperating. [ 1913 Webster ]

I join with these laws the personal presence of the kings' son, as a concurrent cause of this reformation. Sir J. Davies. [ 1913 Webster ]

The concurrent testimony of antiquity. Bp. Warburton. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. Conjoined; associate; concomitant; existing or happening at the same time. [ 1913 Webster ]

There is no difference the concurrent echo and the iterant but the quickness or slowness of the return. Bacon. [ 1913 Webster ]

Changes . . . concurrent with the visual changes in the eye. Tyndall. [ 1913 Webster ]

3. Joint and equal in authority; taking cognizance of similar questions; operating on the same objects; as, the concurrent jurisdiction of courts. [ 1913 Webster ]

4. (Geom.) Meeting in one point.

Syn. -- Meeting; uniting; accompanying; conjoined; associated; coincident; united. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. 1. One who, or that which, concurs; a joint or contributory cause. [ 1913 Webster ]

To all affairs of importance there are three necessary concurrents . . . time, industry, and faculties. Dr. H. More. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. One pursuing the same course, or seeking the same objects; hence, a rival; an opponent. [ 1913 Webster ]

Menander . . . had no concurrent in his time that came near unto him. Holland. [ 1913 Webster ]

3. (Chron.) One of the supernumerary days of the year over fifty-two complete weeks; -- so called because they concur with the solar cycle, the course of which they follow. [ 1913 Webster ]

adv. With concurrence; unitedly. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. The state or quality of being concurrent; concurrence. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. Running in an opposite direction. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. A current running in an opposite direction to the main current. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. 1. a stretch of turbulent water in the sea.
Syn. -- rip, riptide, tide rip. [ WordNet 1.5 ]

2. a tendency or sentiment within a group which conflicts with that of the majority; -- often used in the plural. [ PJC ]

a. [ 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 ] [ 1913 Webster ]

Like the current fire, that renneth
Upon a cord. Gower. [ 1913 Webster ]

To chase a creature that was current then
In these wild woods, the hart with golden horns. Tennyson. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. Now passing, as time; as, the current month. [ 1913 Webster ]

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. [ 1913 Webster ]

That there was current money in Abraham's time is past doubt. Arbuthnot. [ 1913 Webster ]

Your fire-new stamp of honor is scarce current. Shak. [ 1913 Webster ]

His current value, which is less or more as men have occasion for him. Grew. [ 1913 Webster ]

4. Commonly estimated or acknowledged. [ 1913 Webster ]

5. Fitted for general acceptance or circulation; authentic; passable. [ 1913 Webster ]

O Buckingham, now do I play the touch
To try if thou be current gold indeed. Shak. [ 1913 Webster ]

Account current. See under Account. --
Current money, lawful money. Abbott. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ Cf. F. courant. See Current, a. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

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. [ 1913 Webster ]

Two such silver currents, when they join,
Do glorify the banks that bound them in. Shak. [ 1913 Webster ]

The surface of the ocean is furrowed by currents, whose direction . . . the navigator should know. Nichol. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. General course; ordinary procedure; progressive and connected movement; as, the current of time, of events, of opinion, etc. [ 1913 Webster ]

Current meter, an instrument for measuring the velocity, force, etc., of currents. --
Current mill, a mill driven by a current wheel. --
Current wheel, a wheel dipping into the water and driven by the current of a stream or by the ebb and flow of the tide.

Syn. -- Stream; course. See Stream. [ 1913 Webster ]

adv. In a current manner; generally; commonly; as, it is currently believed. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. 1. The quality of being current; currency; circulation; general reception. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. Easiness of pronunciation; fluency. [ Obs. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

When currentness [ combineth ] with staidness, how can the language . . . sound other than most full of sweetness? Camden. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. [ L. decurrens, -entis, p. pr. of decurrere to run down; de- + currere to run: cf. F. décurrent. ] (Bot.) Extending downward; -- said of a leaf whose base extends downward and forms a wing along the stem. -- De*cur"rent*ly, adv. [1913 Webster]

. (Elec.) The current flowing through a delta connection. [ Webster 1913 Suppl. ]

. (Elec.) (a) A current flowing in one direction only; -- distinguished from alternating current. When steady and not pulsating a direct current is often called a continuous current. (b)
A direct induced current, or momentary current of the same direction as the inducing current, produced by stopping or removing the latter; also, a similar current produced by removal of a magnet. [ Webster 1913 Suppl. ]

a. Not current or free to circulate; not in use. [ Obs. ] Sir E. Sandys. [ 1913 Webster ]

(Elec.) An induced electric current circulating wholly within a mass of metal; -- called also Foucault current. [ Webster 1913 Suppl. ]

, the movement of electrically charged particles, atoms, or ions, through solids, liquids, gases, or free space; the term is usually used of relatively smooth movements of electric charge through conductors, whether constant or variable. Sudden movements of charge are usually referred to by other terms, such as spark or lightning or discharge. In metallic conductors the electric current is usually due to movement of electrons through the metal. The current is measured as the rate of movement of charge per unit time, and is counted in units of amperes. As a formal definition, the direction of movement of electric current is considered as the same as the direction of movement of positive charge, or in a direction opposite to the movement of negative charge. Electric current may move constantly in a single direction, called direct current (abbreviated DC), or may move alternately in one direction and then the opposite direction, called alternating current (abbreviated AC). [ PJC ]

a. [ L. excurrens, p. p. of excurrere, excursum, to run out; ex out + currere to run. See Current. ] 1. Running or flowing out; as: (Bot.) Running or extending out; as, an excurrent midrib, one which projects beyond the apex of a leaf; an excurrent steam or trunk, one which continues to the top. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. (Zoöl.) Characterized by a current which flows outward; as, an excurrent orifice or tube. [ 1913 Webster ]

[ After J. B. L. Foucault (1819-68), French physicist. ] (Elec.) An eddy current. [ Webster 1913 Suppl. ]

a. [ L. incurrens, p. pr. incurere, incursum, to run in; in- + currere to run. ] (Zool.) Characterized by a current which flows inward; as, the incurrent orifice of lamellibranch Mollusca. [ 1913 Webster ]

. (Elec.) A current due to variation in the magnetic field surrounding its conductor. [ Webster 1913 Suppl. ]

a. [ L. intercurrens, p. pr. of intercurrere: cf. F. intercurrent. See Intercur. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

1. Running between or among; intervening. Boyle. Bp. Fell. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. (Med.) (a) Not belonging to any particular season. (b) Said of diseases occurring in the course of another disease. Dunglison. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. Something intervening. Holland. [ 1913 Webster ]

. A branch of the equatorial current of the Pacific, washing the eastern coast of Formosa and thence flowing northeastward past Japan and merging into the easterly drift of the North Pacific; -- called also Kuro-Siwo, or Black Stream, in allusion to the deep blue of its water. It is similar in may ways to the Gulf Stream. [ Webster 1913 Suppl. ]

a. [ L. luna moon + E. current. ] Having relation to changes in currents that depend on the moon's phases. Bache. [ 1913 Webster ]

adj. Not current or belonging to the present time. Opposite of current. [ Narrower terms: back(prenominal), out-of-date; discontinued, out of print(predicate), out of production(predicate), out of use(predicate); disused, obsolete ; obsolete, outdated, outmoded, out-of-date, superannuated ; obsolescent ] Also See: old, past. [ WordNet 1.5 ]

a. Not recurring. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. [ L. occurrens, -entis, p. pr. of occurrere: cf. F. occurrent. See Occur. ] Occurring or happening; hence, incidental; accidental. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. 1. One who meets; hence, an adversary. [ Obs. ] Holland. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. Anything that happens; an occurrence. [ Obs. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

These we must meet with in obvious occurrents of the world. Sir T. Browne. [ 1913 Webster ]

. (Elec.) A current alternating in direction. [ Webster 1913 Suppl. ]

Oscillating engine, a steam engine whose cylinder oscillates on trunnions instead of being permanently fixed in a perpendicular or other direction. Weale. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. [ L. percurrens, p. pr. of percurrere to run through; per through + currere to run. ] Running through the entire length. [ 1913 Webster ]

. The momentary current between two alternating-current generators when juxtaposed in parallel and not agreeing exactly in phase or period. [ Webster 1913 Suppl. ]

a. [ L. recurrens, -entis, p. pr. of recurrere: cf.F. récurrent. See Recur. ] 1. Returning from time to time; recurring; as, recurrent pains. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. (Anat.) Running back toward its origin; as, a recurrent nerve or artery. [ 1913 Webster ]

Recurrent fever. (Med.) See Relapsing fever, under Relapsing. --
Recurrent pulse (Physiol.), the pulse beat which appears (when the radial artery is compressed at the wrist) on the distal side of the point of pressure through the arteries of the palm of the hand. --
Recurrent sensibility (Physiol.), the sensibility manifested by the anterior, or motor, roots of the spinal cord (their stimulation causing pain) owing to the presence of sensory fibers from the corresponding sensory or posterior roots. [ 1913 Webster ]

. (Elec.) A current which, though too feeble to blow the usual fuse or to injure at once telegraph or telephone instruments, will in time burn them out. [ Webster 1913 Suppl. ]

n. [ Thermo- + current. ] (Physics) A current developed or set in motion by heat; specif., an electric current, in a heterogeneous circuit, due to differences of temperature between the junctions of the substances of which the circuit is composed. [ Webster 1913 Suppl. ]

a. Not current. Specifically: Not passing in common payment; not receivable at par or full value; as, uncurrent notes. Shak. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. 1. A current below the surface of water, sometimes flowing in a contrary direction to that on the surface. Totten. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. Hence, figuratively, a tendency of feeling, opinion, or the like, in a direction contrary to what is publicly shown; an unseen influence or tendency; as, a strong undercurrent of sentiment in favor of a prisoner. [ 1913 Webster ]

All the while there was a busy undercurrent in her. G. Eliot. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. Running beneath the surface; hidden. [ R. ] “Undercurrent woe.” Tennyson. [ 1913 Webster ]

See abolishable.
See absolvable.
See absurd.
See abundant.
See accordant.
See adoptable.
See adventurous.
See affable.
See affectionate.
See afraid.
See alliable.
See allowable.
See alterable.
See ambiguous.
See ambitious.
See amendable.
See -American.
See amusive.
See angular.
See anxious.
See apocryphal.
See apostolic.
See apparent.
See appeasable.
See applausive.
See appreciable.
See apprehensible.
See apprehensive.
See approachable.
See artificial.
See artistic.
See assailable.
See attainable.
See attentive.
See authentic.
See available.
See bailable.
See bearable.
See beautiful.
See beliefful.
See believable.
See beneficial.
See benevolent.
See blamable.
See blemishable.
See blissful.
See boastful.
See bold.
See bookish.
See bounteous.
See bribable.
See brotherly.
See burdensome.
See businesslike.
See busy.
See candid.
See canonical.
See captious.
See careful.
See celestial.
See ceremonious.
See challengeable.
See changeable.
See chary.
See chastisable.
See cheerful.
See cheery.
See childish.
See chivalrous.
See choleric.
See christianlike.
See circumspect.
See civic.
See classible.
See classic.
See classical.
See cleanly.
See clear.
See clerical.
See clerklike.
See close.
See cloudy.
See clubbable.
See coagulable.
See cogitable.
See collectible.
See comic.
See commendable.
See commercial.
See communicable.
See communicative.
See compact.
See companionable.
See compassionate.
See compellable.
See competitive.
See complaisant.
See compliant. See complimentary.
See concealable.
See concurrent.
See conditionate.
See confinable.
See confutable.
See congealable.
See congenial.
See conjugal.
See conjunctive.
See conquerable.
See consecrate.
See containable.
See contaminate.
See contradictable.
See contrite.
See convenable.
See conventional.
See conversable.
See conversant.
See convertible.
See coquettish.
See cordial.
See corpulent.
See correspondent.
See corruptible.
See corruptive.
See costly.
See counselable.
See countable.
See counterfeit.
See courteous.
See courtierlike.
See courtly.
See crafty.
See creatable.
See critical.
See crystalline.
See cultivable.
See curious.
See customary.
See dangerous.
See daughterly.
See dead.
See deceivable.
See decidable.
See decipherable.
See declinable.
See decomposable.
See definable.
See delectable.
See deliberate.
See delightful.
See deliverable.
See democratic.
See demonstrable.
See demonstrative.
See deniable.
See derogatory.
See descendible.
See describable.
See desirable.
See desirous.
See despondent.
See devout.
See diaphanous.
See diligent.
See diminishable.
See discernible.
See disciplinable.
See discordant.
See discoverable.
See dissolvable.
See distinguishable.
See dividable.
See divine.
See domestic.
See doubtful.
[ 1913 Webster ]

. (Elec.) The current through one branch of the star arrangement of a three-phase circuit. [ Webster 1913 Suppl. ]