diffluence

American  

[dif-loo-uhns] / ˈdɪf lu əns /

noun

1. the act of flowing off or away.

2. the act or process of dissolving into a liquid; liquefaction; deliquescence.

3. the rate at which fluid flow diverges along an axis perpendicular to the direction of flow at a given point.

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Etymology

Origin of diffluence

First recorded in 1625–35; difflu(ent) + -ence

Example Sentences

They could not have "moved," but probably "went to smash" by a process peculiar to infusoria, and which Dujardin politely describes as "diffluence."

From Marvels of Pond-life A Year's Microscopic Recreations by Slack, Henry J.

Meanwhile, the diffluence causes a spreading and flattening of the sarcode and swimming gives place to creeping, while the flagella violently lash.

From Scientific American Supplement, No. 470, January 3, 1885 by Various