drift

noun

/dɹɪft/

Etymology

From Middle English drift, dryft (“act of driving, drove, shower of rain or snow, impulse”), from Old English *drift (“drift”), from Proto-Germanic *driftiz (“drift”), from Proto-Indo-European *dʰreybʰ- (“to drive, push”). Equivalent to drive + -t; cognate with North Frisian drift (“drift”), Saterland Frisian Drift (“current, flow, stream, drift”), Dutch drift (“drift, passion, urge”), German Drift (“drift”) and Trift (“drove, pasture”), Danish drift (“impulse, instinct”), Swedish drift (“impulse, instinct”), Icelandic drift (“drift, snow-drift”).

derived from *dʰreybʰ-✻
derived from *driftiz✻
derived from *drift✻
derived from drift

Definitions

1
Movement
Movement; that which moves or is moved.
- Some log perhaps upon the waters swam, a useless drift.
2
The act or motion of drifting
The act or motion of drifting; the force which impels or drives; an overpowering influence or impulse.
- A bad man, being under the drift of any passion, will follow the impulse of it till something interpose.
A place (a ford) along a river where the water is shallow enough to permit crossing to…
A place (a ford) along a river where the water is shallow enough to permit crossing to the opposite side.
›+ 25 more definitionsshow fewer
1. 4
  The tendency of an act, argument, course of conduct, or the like
  The tendency of an act, argument, course of conduct, or the like; object aimed at or intended; intention; hence, also, import or meaning of a sentence or discourse; aim.
  - The Gods defenders of the innocent, Will neuer proſper your intended driftes, That thus oppreſſe poore friendles paſſengers.
  - c. early 1700s, Joseph Addison, A Discourse on Ancient and Modern Learning He has made the drift of the whole poem a compliment on his country in general.
  - Now thou knowest my drift.
2. The horizontal thrust or pressure of an arch or vault upon the abutments.
3. A tool.
4. A deviation from the line of fire, peculiar to obloid projectiles.
5. 8
  Minor deviation of audio or video playback from its correct speed.
  - Reference sync servo system — permits minimal time-base error, assuring minimum jitter and drift.
6. 9
  The situation where a performer gradually and unintentionally moves from their proper…
  The situation where a performer gradually and unintentionally moves from their proper location within the scene.
  - There is another form of drift when playing in a scene with other actors.
7. A passage driven or cut between shaft and shaft
  A passage driven or cut between shaft and shaft; a driftway; a small subterranean gallery.
8. An adit or tunnel driven forward for purposes of exploration or exploitation
  An adit or tunnel driven forward for purposes of exploration or exploitation; generally eventually to a dead end.
9. A sloping winze or road to the surface, for purposes of haulage.
10. In a coal mine, a heading driven for exploration or ventilation.
11. Of a boring or a driven tunnel
  Of a boring or a driven tunnel: deviation from the intended course.
12. A heading driven through a seam of coal.
13. Movement.
14. A sideways movement of the ball through the air, when bowled by a spin bowler.
15. 18
  Slow, cumulative change.
  - genetic drift
16. In the New Forest National Park, UK, the bi-annual round-up of wild ponies in order to…
  In the New Forest National Park, UK, the bi-annual round-up of wild ponies in order to sell them.
17. 20
  To move slowly, especially pushed by currents of water, air, etc.
  - The boat drifted away from the shore.
  - The balloon was drifting in the breeze.
  - One day I was out in the barn and he drifted in. I was currying the horse and he set down on the wheelbarrow and begun to ask questions.
18. 21
  To move haphazardly without any destination.
  - He drifted from town to town, never settling down.
19. 22
  To deviate gently from the intended direction of travel.
  - This car tends to drift left at high speeds.
  - Midway through the half, Argentine Tevez did begin to drift inside in order to exert his influence but by this stage Mick McCarthy's side had gone 1-0 up and looked comfortable.
20. 23
  To drive or carry, as currents do a floating body.
  - 1865-1866, John Henry Newman, Apologia Pro Vita Sua I was drifted back first to the ante - Nicene history , and then to the Church of Alexandria
21. 24
  To drive into heaps.
  - A current of wind drifts snow or sand
22. 25
  To accumulate in heaps by the force of wind
  To accumulate in heaps by the force of wind; to be driven into heaps.
  - Snow or sand drifts.
23. To make a drift
  To make a drift; to examine a vein or ledge for the purpose of ascertaining the presence of metals or ores; to follow a vein; to prospect.
24. To enlarge or shape, as a hole, with a drift.
25. To oversteer a vehicle, causing loss of traction, while maintaining control from entry to…
  To oversteer a vehicle, causing loss of traction, while maintaining control from entry to exit of a corner. See Drifting (motorsport).

The neighborhood

Derived

afterdrift, AI drift, catch someone's drift, channel drift, concept drift, continental drift, Darwin drift, dedrift, downdrift, downward drift, driftage, driftal, drift anchor, drift-anchor, driftbolt, drift-bolt, drift-current, drift excursion, driftfish, drift fishing, drift fruit, driftful, drift ice, driftland, driftless, driftlet, driftling, drift meter, drift mine, drift mining, drift net, drift-net, drift of the forest, drift park, drift phonk, driftpin, drift sail, drift-sail, drift seed, drift space · +36 more

Vish — recursive loop

No curated loop yet for drift. Loops are being traced one word at a time while the ingestion pipeline matures.

sense glosses and etymology drawn from English Wiktionary · source · CC-BY-SA