currentn.
/ˈkʌrənt/, /ˈkʌrn̩t/, U.S. /ˈkərənt/ 1. That which runs or flows, a stream; spec. a portion of a body of water, or of air, etc. moving in a definite direction.
ΘΚΠ
the world > the earth > water > rivers and streams > [noun] > river
floodc825
streamc875
eaeOE
water streamOE
flumec1175
fleamc1300
riverc1300
currentc1380
reea1500
ford1563
fluent1598
draught1601
nymph1605
amnic1623
flux1637
nullah1656
R1692
currency1758
silent highway1841
the world > the earth > water > flow or flowing > current > [noun]
currentc1380
veina1500
ford1563
tide1585
vein1600
draught1601
currency1758
stream-currenta1830
palaeocurrent1955
c1380 Eng. Wycliffite Serm. in Sel. Wks. I. 186 Men þat knowen þe worchinge of þe elementis..and worchiþ woundir bi craft in mevynge of currauntis.
a1616 W. Shakespeare King John (1623) ii. i. 442 Two such siluer currents when they ioyne Do glorifie the bankes that bound them in. View more context for this quotation
1665 R. Hooke Micrographia 212 A small current of blood, which came directly from its snout, and past into its belly.
1726 J. Swift Gulliver II. iii. iv. 60 A..Mill..turned by a Current from a large River.
1863 A. C. Ramsay Physical Geol. & Geogr. Great Brit. (1878) i. 10 Great ocean currents such as the Gulf Stream.
2. † b. The course of a river or other flowing body. Obsolete.
a. The action or condition of flowing; flow, flux (of a river, etc.); usually in reference to its force or velocity.
ΘΚΠ
the world > the earth > water > flow or flowing > [noun]
runninga1398
goutc1400
stream14..
flowingc1440
watercourse1552
current1555
fluxc1600
gliding1600
fluor1642
currency1657
lapse1667
shoot1799
flowage1830
come1862
1555 R. Eden Two Viages into Guinea in tr. Peter Martyr of Angleria Decades of Newe Worlde f. 353 Where the currant setteth alwayes to the eastwarde.
1684 Bp. G. Burnet tr. T. More Utopia 65 There is no great Current in the Bay.
1738 Defoe's Tour Great Brit. (ed. 2) III. 7 [The River Trent] comes down from the Hills with a violent Current into the flat Country.
1832 W. Irving Alhambra I. 25 I came to a river with high banks and deep rapid current.
1863 M. Howitt tr. F. Bremer Greece & Greeks II. xiv. 90 The well-known phenomenon of the changing current in the Straits [of Euripus].
ΘΚΠ
the world > movement > motion in a certain direction > [noun] > course or direction of movement > course of current, wind, or fire
current1708
the world > the earth > water > rivers and streams > system > [noun] > course
gangeOE
streama1552
train1570
sweep1596
river channel1629
currency1657
thread1691
current1708
urn1726
river run1927
1708 W. Whiston New Theory of Earth (ed. 2) ii. 119 The rise and currents of Rivers are not always the same now as before the flood.
1753 J. Hanway Hist. Acct. Brit. Trade Caspian Sea I. xxvi. 167 The peasants diverted the current of the flame, and saved their villages.
1799 J. Robertson Gen. View Agric. Perth 25 The Earn is a more rapid river than the Forth, has a longer current.
3. The inclination or ‘fall’ given to a gutter, roof, etc. to let the water run off.
ΘΚΠ
society > inhabiting and dwelling > inhabited place > a building > parts of building > roof > [noun] > inclination of
current1582
pitch1659
1582 in W. H. Turner Select. Rec. Oxf. (1880) 423 No..persons shall make their pavements higher then an other, but that hit may have a reasonable currant.
1699 in Colonial Rec. Pennsylvania (1852) I. 559 Neglect of Levelling the streets and ordering the Currents yrof.
1703 R. Neve City & Countrey Purchaser 161 Take care that the Gutter..lie..in such a Position that it may have a good Current.
1823 P. Nicholson New Pract. Builder 407 All sheet lead is laid with a current to keep it dry.
1874 E. H. Knight Amer. Mech. Dict. I. 661/1 Gutters usually have a current of ¼ inch to the foot.
ΘΚΠ
society > trade and finance > money > circulation of money > [noun]
course1457
gang1488
walking1549
current1586
currence1651
currency1699
emission1729
running1788
mobilization1801
monetarization1967
1586 T. Bowes tr. P. de la Primaudaye French Acad. I. 684 This priuie councel..taketh order for the currant and finenesse of money.
1651 N. Bacon Contin. Hist. Disc. Govt. 74 The regulating of the Mint, and the current of Money.
1691 A. Gavin Frauds Romish Monks 91 They find a plentiful current of Devotional-Mony.
5. figurative. The course of time or of events; the main course.
ΘΚΠ
the world > time > [noun] > course or passage of time
process1357
concoursec1400
coursec1460
successionc1485
passing-by1523
by-passing1526
slacka1533
continuancea1552
race1565
prolapse1585
current1587
decurse1593
passage1596
drifting1610
flux1612
effluxion1621
transcursion1622
decursion1629
devolution1629
progression1646
efflux1647
preterition1647
processus1648
decurrence1659
progress1664
fluxation1710
elapsing1720
currency1726
lapse1758
elapse1793
time-lapse1864
wearing1876
the world > action or operation > continuing > progress, advance, or further continuance > [noun] > continuous progress or advance of anything
tenor1398
coursec1460
passage1579
current1587
racec1590
profluencea1639
runlong1674
development1756
fore-march1822
upbuilding1876
the world > relative properties > order > order, sequence, or succession > continuity or uninterruptedness > [noun] > continuous succession
motionc1425
coursec1460
discourse1541
discurse?1549
current1587
running1662
1587 J. Hooker Chron. Ireland 136/1 in Holinshed's Chron. (new ed.) II That place was not possessed of the like in manie currents of yeares.
1602 J. Marston Hist. Antonio & Mellida v. sig. I4 My ioyes passion..choakes the current of my speach.
1721 J. Strype Eccl. Memorials I. 19 More perhaps will be said of him in the current of these memorials.
1788 J. Priestley Lect. Hist. iii. xiii. 106 Without some such general comprehension, as we may call it, of the whole current of time.
1817 T. Chalmers Series Disc. Christian Revelation iii. 107 The whole current of my restless and ever-changing history.
1868 E. A. Freeman Hist. Norman Conquest (1876) II. x. 519 One more tale will bring us back directly to the current of our story.
6. † b. The tendency or drift of the common opinion, practice, etc., of a body of persons. Obsolete.
a. Course or progress in a defined direction; tendency, tenor, drift (of opinions, writings, etc.).
ΘΚΠ
the world > existence and causation > existence > state or condition > tendency > [noun] > course or direction
current1607
generalitiesa1628
bent1649
duct1650
turn1690
run1699
movement1789
swim1869
trend1884
1607 S. Hieron Spirituall Sonne-ship in Wks. (1620) I. 370 This is..plaine and obuious out of the very current of the words.
a1616 W. Shakespeare King John (1623) ii. i. 335 Say, shall the currant of our right rome on. View more context for this quotation
1692 J. Locke Toleration iii. x In your first Paper, as the whole Current of it would make one believe.
1782 J. Priestley Hist. Corruptions Christianity I. i. 76 The current of men's opinions having..set that way.
1888 J. Bryce Amer. Commonw. I. xii. 152 Mirabeau's famous words..express the whole current of modern feeling.
ΘΚΠ
the world > existence and causation > existence > state or condition > tendency > [noun] > prevailing tendency or spirit
mainstream1599
current1613
stream1614
spirita1616
tone1641
power curve1968
1613 J. Salkeld Treat. Angels 218 Against this opinion is the common current of all Doctors and Fathers.
1650 Exercitation conc. Usurped Powers 17 The current of the people or community I am of is to be followed.
1738 J. Swift Compl. Coll. Genteel Conversat. p. xxxii Affecting Singularity, against the general Current and Fashion of all about them.
1863 Sat. Rev. 15 583/1 The current of modern American authorities is in complete accordance with this view.
7.
a. The name given to the apparent transmission or ‘flow’ of electric force through a conducting body: introduced in connection with the theory that electrical phenomena are due to a fluid (or fluids) which moves in actual ‘streams’; now the common term for the phenomenon, without reference to any theory.An electric current is according to its nature called alternating or continuous, intermittent, pulsatory, or undulatory.
ΘΚΠ
the world > matter > physics > electromagnetic radiation > electricity > electric current > [noun]
current1747
electric current1760
juice1896
1747 Gentleman's Mag. Mar. 141/1 The frequent exciting such currents of ethereal fire in bed-chambers.
1752 B. Franklin Let. 23 Apr. in Exper. & Observ. Electr. (1769) 264 Perhaps the auroræ boreales are currents of this fluid in its own region, above our atmosphere.
1846 W. R. Grove On Correlation Physical Forces 23 From the manner in which the peculiar force called Electricity, is apparently transmitted through certain bodies..the term current is commonly used to denote its progressive direction.
1871 J. Tyndall Fragm. Sci. (ed. 6) I. x. 306 Faraday..illustrated the laws of these induced currents.
1881 W. L. Carpenter Energy in Nature 153 Dynamo machines..that supply alternating currents, i.e. currents alternately in opposite directions.
1893 N.E.D. at Current Mod. Advt. The Electric Lighting Company are prepared to supply current within the district named.
b. transferred. Applied to the transmission of nerve-force along a nerve.
ΚΠ
1855 A. Bain Senses & Intellect Introd. ii. 52 A current of nervous stimulus..derived from the [spinal] cord to the muscles.
Compounds
C1. In relation to currents of water, air, and the like.
current-drifted adj.
ΚΠ
1856 E. K. Kane Arctic Explor. I. xvii. 206 A current-drifted cask.
current-bedding n. the bedding of geological strata in a sloping direction caused by deposition in a current of water.
ΚΠ
1891 Jrnl. Derbyshire Archæol. Soc. 8 35 The direction of the dip of planes of current-bedding.
current-fender n. a structure to ward off the current from a bank, etc., which it threatens to undermine.
current-gauge n. an apparatus made for measuring the flow of liquids through a channel; (see also quot. 1868 for current-meter n. at Compounds 2).
ΘΚΠ
the world > matter > liquid > liquid flow > action or process of flowing > [noun] > rate of flow > instrument to regulate or measure rate > specifically water velocity
hydrometer1728
rhysimeter1871
current-gauge1874
1874 E. H. Knight Amer. Mech. Dict. I. 661 The dynamometer current-gage of Woltmann, 1790, is a light water-wheel operated by the current.
current-meter n.
current-mill n. a mill driven by a current-wheel.
current-wheel n. a wheel driven by a natural current of water.
ΚΠ
1874 E. H. Knight Amer. Mech. Dict. I. 661 The current-wheel is perhaps the first application of the force of water in motion to driving machinery.
C2. Of or pertaining to an electrical current.
current-breaker n.
ΚΠ
1866 R. M. Ferguson Electricity 185 A contrivance for this purpose is called a rheotom, or current-break.
current-collector n.
ΚΠ
1889 Pall Mall Gaz. 16 Mar. 3/3 This current collector, which is connected with the motor placed between the wheels underneath the floor of the car, moves in the conduit beneath the rail.
current-grid n.
ΚΠ
1927 Daily Tel. 31 Jan. 5 The plate current-grid volts.
current-meter n.
ΚΠ
1868 W. D. Haskoll Land & Marine Surv. xi. 170 The current meter is useful also to ascertain the velocity of under currents.
current-regulator n.
current-weigher n.
ΚΠ
1881 J. C. Maxwell Treat. Electr. & Magnetism (ed. 2) II. 341 The suspended coil in Dr. Joule's current-weigher is horizontal and capable of vertical motion.
current-carrying adj.
ΚΠ
1962 D. R. Corson & P. Lorrain Introd. Electromagn. Fields v. 179 A current-carrying conductor.
current-closer n.
ΚΠ
1884 F. Krohn tr. G. Glaser de Cew Magneto- & Dynamo-electr. Machines 207 The current closers and interrupters.
current-energized adj.
ΚΠ
1884 F. Krohn tr. G. Glaser de Cew Magneto- & Dynamo-electr. Machines 272 The current-energised rotating helix.
current feedback n.
ΚΠ
1962 J. H. Simpson & R. S. Richards Physical Princ. Junction Transistors xiii. 295 The more usual practice is to define the feedback, solely by the way it is derived, as ‘voltage’ (parallel) or ‘current’ (series) feedback.
current-limiting adj.
ΚΠ
1964 R. F. Ficchi Electr. Interference x. 210 A current-limiting device in neutral circuits.
current pulsation n.
ΚΠ
1879 G. B. Prescott Speaking Telephone (new ed.) 16 When the latter acts, it does so in obedience to current pulsations.
current reverser n.
ΚΠ
1862 Internat. Exhib.: Illustr. Catal. Industr. Dept. II. xiii. 13 As these instruments have no break pieces or current reversers they cannot get out of order.
1888 S. R. Bottone Electr. Instr. Making (1894) 192 The current reverser for the Wheatstone single needle telegraph.
current sheet n.
ΚΠ
1881 J. C. Maxwell Treat. Electr. & Magnetism (ed. 2) I. 380 A stratum of a conductor contained between two consecutive surfaces of flow..is called a Current-Sheet.
current-using adj.
ΚΠ
1946 Nature 13 July 54/2 A system which gives the constant line voltage required for current-using devices.
Draft additions 1993
c. Particle Physics. A transfer or exchange of a subatomic particle, esp. a particle that mediates an interaction between other particles; a particle so transferred.
ΘΚΠ
the world > matter > physics > atomic physics > particle physics > [noun] > interaction between particles > transfer, exchange
current1958
1958 Physical Rev. 109 196/1 Imagine that the interaction is due to some intermediate (electrically charged) vector meson of very high mass M0. If this meson is coupled to the ‘current’ (ψpγμaψn) and (ψμγμaψν) by a coupling.., then the interaction of the two ‘currents’ would result from the exchange of this ‘meson’ if 4πf2M0−2 = (8)½G.
1958 Physical Rev. 109 196/1 The current of pions.
1964 Physics Lett. 13 169/2 When we come to consider hadrons the absence of neutral leptonic currents interacting with heavy particles requires that we assume X0 particles are at least as massive as W+ or W−.
1978 Nature 11 May 98/2 Here two charged leptonic currents interact, one of them turning a muon into a mu-neutrino, the other generating an electron and its antineutrino.
1980 J. Trefil From Atoms to Quarks xiii. 203 The beta decay of the neutron... It proceeds by the exchange of a W boson which is called the charged current. A similar process in which a Z is exchanged would be said to proceed by the exchange of a neutral current.
1983 McGraw-Hill Yearbk. Sci. & Technol. 1984 142/2 Interest in beta decay stems from the predictions of modern gauge theories that the helicity of the weak leptonic current is not exact, being broken either by a small right-handed current admixture..or by a nonzero neutrino mass.
This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1893; most recently modified version published online September 2021).
currentadj.
/ˈkʌrənt/, /ˈkʌrn̩t/, U.S. /ˈkərənt/ 1. † b. current ship n. see quot. 1555. Obsolete.† c. Heraldry. = courant adj. Obsolete.† d. Having a fall or inclination; sloping. Obsolete. (Cf. current n. 3.)
a. Running; flowing. (Now rare.)
ΘΚΠ
the world > movement > rate of motion > swiftness > [adjective]
swiftc888
swifta1050
currentc1300
quickc1300
hastivea1325
hastyc1330
ingnel1340
swiftyc1380
speedfula1387
fasta1400
swippingc1420
speedy1487
fleet1528
tite?a1540
scudding1545
flighty1552
suddenly1556
flight1581
feathered1587
Pegasean1590
wing-footed1591
swift-winged?1592
thought-swift-flying1595
wind-winged?1596
swallow-winged1597
Pegasarian1607
skelping1607
rapid1608
night-swifta1616
celerious1632
clipping1635
perniciousa1656
volatile1655
quick-foot1658
meteorous1667
windy1697
high-flying1710
fleet-footed1726
aliped1727
wickc1760
velocious1775
flight-performing1785
fast-going1800
fast-moving1802
meteor1803
wight-wapping1830
fleety1841
speeding1847
swiftening1848
two-forty1855
fire-swift1865
pennate1870
spinning1882
percursory1884
zippy1889
meteoric1895
pacy1906
presto1952
the world > movement > rate of motion > swiftness > going swiftly on foot > [adjective] > performed with or accompanied by running
currentc1300
runninga1500
the world > matter > liquid > liquid flow > action or process of flowing > [adjective]
flowinga1000
runningOE
laving13..
yerning1340
current?1523
coursing1600
fluent1607
coulant1632
aflow1863
c1300 K. Alis 3461 With him cam..mony faire juster corant.
1393 J. Gower Confessio Amantis III. 96 Like to the currant fire, that renneth Upon a corde.
?1523 J. Fitzherbert Bk. Husbandry f. xlv Se that there be no water standynge..but that it be alwaye currant and ronnyng.
1596 J. Davies Orchestra lxix. sig. B6v Those currant trauases That on a triple Dactyle foote doe run Close by the ground.
1653 T. Barker Art of Angling 10 They will go currant downe the River.
1667 J. Milton Paradise Lost vii. 67 The current streame. View more context for this quotation
1756 T. Amory Life John Buncle I. 247 The water was current thro' the pond.
1830 W. Phillips Mt. Sinai i. 597 The current spring.
ΚΠ
1555 R. Eden tr. Peter Martyr of Angleria Decades of Newe Worlde iii. vi. f. 120v The lyghtest shyp which maye bee a passinger betwene them: that lyke as we vse poste horses by lande, so may they by this currant shippe, in shorte space certifie the Lieuetenaunt..of suche thynges as shall chaunce.
ΘΚΠ
society > communication > indication > insignia > heraldic devices collective > heraldic representations of creatures > [adjective] > specific movements of heraldic beasts
passantc1425
rampant1449
natantc1460
combatantc1500
issant1513
naiant1562
salient1562
cursant1572
naissant1572
vibrant1572
counter-salient1610
current1610
issuant1610
counter-passant1632
repassant1632
courant1727
contourné1728
1610 J. Guillim Display of Heraldrie iii. xiv. 135 He beareth..three Vnicornes in pale, Current.
1681 T. Jordan London's Joy 7 Argent, three Greyhounds Currant Arm'd and Collard, Gules.
ΘΚΠ
the world > space > relative position > inclination > [adjective] > inclined from level or sloping
pyramidala1398
shoringc1503
slopec1503
pitching1519
current?1523
battering1589
pitched1594
aslope1599
sloping1610
shelving1615
stooping1621
raking1665
sloped1683
shedding1688
slopy1740
raked1948
?1523 J. Fitzherbert Bk. Husbandry f. xlv To make them euyn somwhat dyscending or currant one way or other.
1530 J. Palsgrave Lesclarcissement 441 This water avoydeth nat well; by lykelyhod the goutter is nat courrant.
e. Of handwriting: ‘Running’, cursive.
ΘΚΠ
society > communication > writing > handwriting or style of > [adjective] > cursive
running1575
tachygraphic1728
voluble1745
tachygraphical1764
cursive1784
Spencerian1883
current1891
joined-up1983
1891 E. Maunde Thompson in Classical Rev. Nov. 418/2 Ought our descendants then to infer that we knew nothing of a current hand?
2. figurative. Smoothly flowing; running easily and swiftly; fluent. (Now rare.)
ΘΚΠ
the world > movement > rate of motion > swiftness > swift movement in specific manner > [adjective] > moving swiftly and easily
current1577
light-winged1595
the world > action or operation > easiness > [adjective] > not hindering or encumbering > not hindered or encumbered > operating or progressing easily
current1577
expedite1578
glib1594
facile1607
well-oiled1614
well-going1623
undisobliging1715
sweet1725
swimming1768
society > leisure > the arts > literature > style of language or writing > elegance > [adjective] > fluent or unforced
gentc1390
renablec1410
flowing1553
round1565
unracked1572
current1577
ready1583
voluble1598
facile1607
unforceda1616
fluent1625
sliding1627
unstudied1657
flippanta1677
easy1711
fast-flowing1770
fluida1794
superfluent1917
1577 R. Stanyhurst Hist. Irelande iii. 102/1 in R. Holinshed Chron. I Mistrusting..that all went not currant.
1589 G. Puttenham Arte Eng. Poesie i. iv. 5 Speech by meeter..is more currant and slipper vpon the tongue.
1659 H. Hammond Paraphr. & Annot. Psalms (vii. 4 Annot.) 42/1 Thus the sense is perspicuous and current.
1709 J. Strype Ann. Reformation ii. 67 April 18. The Bill..was read the first time. Apr. 19. Read the second time..Apr. 20. Read the third time, and passed the House. So current it seems this bill went.
1818 Ld. Byron Don Juan: Canto I (Pierpont Morgan) cc, in Wks. (1837) 608 (note) Other incidents..Which shall be specified..in current rhyme.
3.
a. Running in time; in course of passing; in progress. Often used elliptically, as in the 10th current (abbreviated curt.), i.e. the 10th day of the current month.
ΘΚΠ
the world > time > relative time > the present (time) > [adjective]
present1340
nowa1393
presentary?a1425
unrun1474
modernc1485
hodiern?a1513
actual1525
modernal1542
instantc1550
this1582
immediate1605
current1608
nowadays1609
nowaday1632
hodiernal1656
living1659
running1659
daily1663
existent1676
existing1827
present-day1833
presential1878
today1908
1608 Dispute Question of Kneeling 131 There was not any long time current and past wherein it has been observed and made usuall.
1647 J. Howell New Vol. of Lett. 14 I had yours of the tenth current.
1664 H. More Modest Enq. Myst. Iniquity 477 [It] does not imply the time fully run out, but that the last part thereof must then be current.
1708 Chamberlayne's Magnæ Britanniæ Notitia (1743) i. iii. i. 142 None is to be ordained..Deacon till he is at least twenty-three current.
1858 J. F. W. Herschel Outl. Astron. (ed. 5) xviii. 680 A date..always expresses the day or year current and not elapsed.
b. Belonging to the current week, month, or other period of time.
ΚΠ
1734 G. Berkeley Let. 17 Mar. in Wks. (1871) IV. 218 I paid the curates for the current year.
1780 E. Burke Speech Oeconomical Reformation 8 No tax is raised for the current services.
1862 J. Ruskin Munera Pulveris (1880) 46 To enlarge his current expenses.
1868 C. Dickens Let. 31 July (2002) XII. 162 We must call the current No. for that date, the Xmas No.
4.
a. Of money: Passing from hand to hand; in circulation; in general use as a medium of exchange.
ΘΚΠ
society > trade and finance > money > circulation of money > [adjective]
current1481
1481 W. Caxton tr. Myrrour of Worlde iii. xiv. 167 In the begynnynge of the Regne of Kynge Edward..was no monoye curraunt in englond but pens and halfpens and ferthynges.
1535 Bible (Coverdale) Gen. xxiii. C Currant money amonge marchauntes [Wycliffite preued comune money].
1611 T. Coryate Crudities sig. X8v The currantest money of all both in Venice it selfe, and in the whole Venetian Signiory.
1630 tr. G. Botero Relations Famous Kingdomes World (rev. ed.) 501 In Kataia a coine is currant, made of the blacke rinde of a certaine tree.
1781 E. Gibbon Decline & Fall II. 66 Of the current coin of the empire.
1872 J. Yeats Growth Commerce 33 Pieces of leather impressed with the government mark and passing current like our bank-notes.
b. = Locally current. (Cf. currency n. 4b.)
ΚΠ
1593 in Muniments of Irvine (1890) I. 79 The Burrow meillis..to be payit in Stirlling money..ar resavit in current money to our greit hurt.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > mental capacity > knowledge > conformity with what is known, truth > foundation in fact, validity > [adjective] > genuine, real
soothc888
soothlyc888
soothfastc1175
germanec1384
truea1398
sickera1400
upright?a1500
uncounterfeita1542
righteous1543
legitimate1551
truepennya1556
arrant1570
uncounterfeited1571
real1573
current1578
genuinal1599
unforged1610
unpretended1611
legitime1614
unabusinga1628
Lubish1632
genuine1639
undissembled1651
undissimulate1652
ingenuine1661
infallacious1677
real live1684
unfalsified1688
unmistaken1694
pukka1776
undissimulated1776
unassumed1818
uncynical1824
Simon Pure1834
sure-enough1837
unsimulated1840
straight-out1848
true blue1852
veritable1862
really (and) truly1864
authentic1868
true-metal1868
kosher1896
twenty-four carat1900
honest to goodness1905
echt1916
dinky-di1918
McCoy1928
twenty-two carat1962
right1969
1578 J. Lyly Euphues f. 20v Thoughe others seeme counterfait in their deedes,..Euphues will bee alwayes curraunt in his dealinges.
1599 Warning for Faire Women ii. 1555 To put your love unto the touch, to try If it be currant, or but counterfait.
1611 R. Cotgrave Dict. French & Eng. Tongues À Preuve de marteau, sound, currant, good, right stuffe.
1634 W. Tirwhyt tr. J. L. G. de Balzac Lett. 67 If the report which passeth be current.
1640 tr. J. A. Comenius Janua Linguarum Reserata (new ed.) ix. §85 With a touch-stone we try metal, whether they bee good [currant] or counterfeit.
1744 J. Harris Three Treat. iii. i. 141 Do we not try [a Piece of Metal]..by the Test, before we take it for Current?
6. Generally reported or known; in general circulation; in general use, prevalent.
ΘΚΠ
the world > relative properties > kind or sort > generality > [adjective] > general or prevalent
commona1325
generala1393
usual1396
popular?a1425
riveda1513
vulgarc1550
current1563
afloat1571
widespread1582
penny-rife1606
catholic1607
spacious1610
epidemical1614
epidemial1616
epidemic1617
prevailent1623
regnant1623
fashionablea1627
wide-spreading1655
endemical1658
prevalent1658
endemiala1682
obtaining1682
prevailing1682
endemious1684
sterling1696
running1697
(as) common as dirt (also muck)1737
prevailant1794
exoteric1814
endemic1852
widish1864
prolate1882
going1909
the mind > mental capacity > knowledge > knowledge, what is known > familiarity > [adjective] > generally known
commona1387
notorious1531
vulgar1548
current1563
going1909
1563 W. Baldwin et al. Myrrour for Magistrates (new ed.) Jane Shore xxiv What I sayd was currant every where.
1625 F. Bacon Ess. (new ed.) sig. Aiiiv I doe now publish my Essayes; which, of all my other workes, haue beene most Currant.
1631 J. Pory in H. Ellis Orig. Lett. Eng. Hist. ii. 271 III. 267 It is current in every mans mouth that the Kings journey into Scotland is putt off.
1775 E. Burke Corr. (1844) II. 40 I find it very current that parliament will meet in October.
1855 T. B. Macaulay Hist. Eng. IV. 549 The stories which were current about both Seymour and the Speaker.
7. Generally accepted; established by common consent; in vogue. Often with mixture of sense 3: Accepted or in vogue at the time in question.
ΘΚΠ
the world > existence and causation > existence > state or condition > tendency > [adjective] > in line with prevailing tendency or mainstream
current1593
mainline1941
the world > action or operation > behaviour > customary or habitual mode of behaviour > [adjective] > usual or customary > in usual or customary use
current1593
fashionablea1627
1593 T. Bilson Perpetual Govt. Christes Church 169 If laie Elders had bene currant in Gregories time.
1665 J. Glanvill Sciri Tuum: Authors Defense Let. Aristotle 78 in Scepsis Scientifica The current Theology of Europe.
1667 J. Dryden Let. to Sir R. Howard in Annus Mirabilis 1666 Pref. A word which is not current English.
1713 G. Berkeley Three Dialogues Hylas & Philonous ii. 81 The current, proper Signification, annexed to a common Name in any Language.
1831 J. Sinclair Corr. II. 187 The commerce of Holland greatly depends on the current interest.
1884 H. Spencer in Contemp. Rev. XLVI. 46 Current utilitarian speculation..shows inadequate consciousness of natural causation.
8. to pass, go, or run current (senses 5 – 7): to be in circulation or in common use; to be generally related, reported, or accepted; to be received as genuine. (Formerly to pass for current or to go for current.)
ΘΚΠ
society > trade and finance > money > circulation of money > be in circulation [verb (intransitive)]
gangOE
run1399
pass1475
servec1475
go1504
to pass, go, or run current1596
to take vent1641
circulate1691
float1778
the world > relative properties > kind or sort > generality > be generally applicable [verb (intransitive)] > be general or prevalent
pass1475
runa1500
tain?1536
to go for current1596
to pass for current1596
prevail1617
obtain1619
1596 J. Harington New Disc. Aiax Prol. sig. B4v And so now it passeth currant to be spoken & written AJAX.
1600 Abp. G. Abbot Expos. Prophet Ionah 3 Which opinion hath gone so currant, that..some of the new writers haue accepted it for a truth.
1611 M. Smith in Bible (King James) Transl. Pref. 4 Why the Translation of the Seuentie was allowed to passe for currant.
1614 W. Camden Remaines (rev. ed.) 16 But most true this may seeme which runneth currant euery where.
1619 E. M. Bolton tr. Florus Rom. Hist. iii. iii. 253 That inuincible rage, and furious onset, which goes current with the barbarous for true valour.
1629 J. Rous Diary (1856) 46 It went for currant that the Spanyards had killed the French and Dutch.
1725 D. Defoe New Voy. round World ii. 27 It went current among the Seamen, that the Spanish Doctor was an Englishman.
1727 A. Hamilton New Acct. E. Indies I. xxi. 250 Their Language [Portuguese] goes current along most of the Sea-coast.
1828 T. B. Macaulay Hallam's Constit. Hist. in Edinb. Rev. Sept. 102 If such arguments are to pass current, it will be easy to prove [etc.].
Compounds
current account n. an account kept by a customer at a bank to meet his or her current expenses.
ΘΚΠ
society > trade and finance > financial dealings > banking > [noun] > bank-account
account1615
bank account1671
a/c1736
drawing account1737
private account1772
banking account1792
embankment1813
current account1846
savings account1850
deposit account1851
checking account1923
demand deposit1930
ghost account1933
numbered account1963
society > trade and finance > management of money > keeping accounts > account or statement of > [noun] > other types of accounts
calends of exchangec1374
scorea1400
pipe1455
mensalc1475
profit and loss1553
stock1588
bank account1671
lump-account1699
revenue account1703
profit and loss account1721
sundry1736
drawing account1737
stock account?1768
private account1772
trading account1780
Flemish account1785
capital account1813
embankment1813
cost account1817
cash-credit1832
current account1846
savings account1850
deposit account1851
suspense account1869
control account1908
checking account1923
ghost account1933
numbered account1963
budget account1969
ISA1975
MSA1993
1846 C. Dickens Pictures from Italy 66 A means of establishing a current account with Heaven, on which to draw..for future bad actions.
1875 H. Fisher Opening Spec. Banking Accts. 1 The opening, working, and closing of certain classes of Current and Deposit Accounts.
1883 J. Hutchison Pract. Banking II. 112 A number of the accounts in the Deposit Ledgers might with propriety be transferred to the Current Account Ledgers.
1899 Westm. Gaz. 1 Sept. 6/3 It is the depositor, rather than the current-account customer, who is victimised by this custom.
1951 R. W. Jones Thomson's Dict. Banking (ed. 10) 206/1 A current or running account is the active account on which cheques are drawn and to which credits are paid.
current affairs n. those in progress, those belonging to the present time.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > mental capacity > perception or cognition > faculty of ideation > topic, subject-matter > affair, business, concern > [noun] > of present time
current events1850
current affairs1920
1920 M. Beerbohm And Even Now 60 Swinburne did, from time to time, take public notice of current affairs.
1955 ‘C. Brown’ Lost Girls x. 111 We began each afternoon's session with a ‘current affairs’ talk.
1957 B.B.C. Handbk. 102 Up-to-date information on current affairs.
current cost accounting n. a method of accounting in which assets are valued on the basis of their replacement cost and increases in their value as a result of inflation are excluded from calculations of profit.
ΘΚΠ
society > trade and finance > management of money > keeping accounts > [noun] > cost accounting
cost keeping1865
cost accounting1894
current cost accounting1975
1975 Rep. Inflation Accounting Comm. (F. E. P. Sandilands) i. 3 in Parl. Papers 1974–5 VII. 411 We recommend that a system to be known as Current Cost Accounting should be developed.
1977 Courier-Mail (Brisbane) 2 Mar. 2/6 Current cost accounting, a system which takes account of inflation, is called inflation accounting in the United States.
1984 C. Hitching & D. Stone Understanding Accounting! vii. 85 We shall be turning our attention to the question of ‘value’, and to current cost accounting.
current events n. those in progress, those belonging to the present time.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > mental capacity > perception or cognition > faculty of ideation > topic, subject-matter > affair, business, concern > [noun] > of present time
current events1850
current affairs1920
1850 Harper's Mag. June 122 (headline) Monthly record of current events.
1920 S. Lewis Main St. ix. 107 The Thanatopsis Club..have some of the best..current-events discussions.
current goods n. see quot.
ΘΚΠ
society > trade and finance > merchandise > [noun] > consumer goods
consumable1722
consumption goods1890
consumer goods1901
consumer durable goods1936
current goods1936
1936 Discovery Nov. 355/2 The distinction between capital goods and current goods is..one of the most important in the whole of economics.
1948 G. Crowther Outl. Money (ed. 2) v. 129 Every year the community produces a certain total of goods and services; some of them are for immediate consumption, the rest are goods whose value will last beyond the immediate present. These two categories can be called current goods and durable goods. All services are naturally current goods.
Draft additions March 2012
current asset n. Business and Accounting a short-term asset of a business, etc., such as cash, trading stock, or money owed by debtors; frequently in plural; cf. capital asset n. at capital adj. and n.2 Compounds 1c, fixed asset n. at fixed adj. 6d.
ΘΚΠ
society > trade and finance > financial dealings > types of money-dealing > [noun] > provision of capital > capital or principal > types of
stock1598
artificial capital1772
circulating capital1776
natural capital1785
money capital1791
working capital1798
reserve1819
authorized capital1825
current asset1826
loan capital1848
capital asset1851
water1867
capital equipment1893
refugee capital1926
risk capital1927
hot money1936
venture capital1943
risk money1944
exposure1975
1826 Rep. Select Comm. Promissory Notes in Scotl. & Ireland 139 I have understood that they had a personal bond from the partners of the bank..besides having the current assets of the bank deposited in their hands as far as they could be.
1855 Railway Rec. 27 Jan. 57/3 The balance might fairly be reckoned as a current asset unexhausted until the end of the year.
1925 Univ. Jrnl. Business 3 382 Liquidity of current assets varies with the ratio of cash, salable securities, notes and accounts receivable (less adequate reserves for bad debts), to total current liabilities (divide the total of the first four items by total current liabilities).
1996 Which? Guide to starting your own Business (new ed.) vi. 107 Another test of solvency is to see whether the business, as a going concern, can meet its current liabilities out of its current assets.
2002 D. Goleman et al. Business: Ultimate Resource 861/1 Current assets include cash, cash equivalents, marketable securities, inventories, and prepaid expenses that are expected to be used within one year or a normal operating cycle.
Draft additions March 2012
current liability n. Business and Accounting a debt due to be paid to creditors within twelve months of the balance-sheet date; frequently in plural; cf. capital liability n. at capital adj. and n.2 Compounds 1c.
ΘΚΠ
society > trade and finance > management of money > insolvency > indebtedness > [noun] > a debt > other types of debt
crown debt1641
debt of honour1646
oblata1658
judgment debt1702
bond-debt1707
rumple1746
contingent liability1798
overdraft1812
current liability1832
receivable1836
minority debt1897
negative equity1946
eligible liability1971
1832 Morning Post 2 Aug. 3/2 Current income and current liabilities should be balanced against each other.
1889 Amer. Statist. Assoc. June 247 No road can keep its bills wholly paid up or wholly collected. The consequence is that it has some outstanding cash assets and some current liabilities.
1928 A. Wall & R. W. Duning Ratio Anal. Financial Statements v. 90 A great many analysts have supplemented their measure of the total current assets against the total current liabilities by a comparison in which the inventory does not play a part.
2003 D. L. Scott Wall St. Words (ed. 3) 2 Accounts payable are current liabilities incurred in the normal course of business as a firm purchases goods or services with the understanding that payment is due at a later date.
This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1893; most recently modified version published online September 2021).
† currentv.
Obsolete. rare.
transitive. To render current, give currency or acceptance to.
ΘΚΠ
the world > time > relative time > the present (time) > make or render present [verb (transitive)] > make modern or update
current1602
modernize1716
1602 J. Marston Hist. Antonio & Mellida Induct. sig. A3 The vneuen scale, that currants all thinges by the outwarde stamp of opinion.
1607 J. Marston What you Will ii. i. 295 Faith, so, so..As 't please opinion to current it.
This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1893; most recently modified version published online March 2021).
<
n.c1380
adj.c1300
v.1602