different between channel vs torrent

English

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /?t?æn?l/
• Hyphenation: chan?nel
• Rhymes: -æn?l

Etymology 1

From Middle English chanel (also as canel, cannel, kanel), a borrowing from Old French chanel, canel, from Latin can?lis (“groove; canal; channel”). Doublet of canal.

Noun

channel (plural channels)

1. The physical confine of a river or slough, consisting of a bed and banks.

   The water coming out of the waterwheel created a standing wave in the channel.

2. The natural or man-made deeper course through a reef, bar, bay, or any shallow body of water.

   A channel was dredged to allow ocean-going vessels to reach the city.

3. The navigable part of a river.

   We were careful to keep our boat in the channel.

4. A narrow body of water between two land masses.

   The English Channel lies between France and England.
5. Something through which another thing passes; a means of conveying or transmitting.

   The news was conveyed to us by different channels.

   • 1859, John Call Dalton, A Treatise on Human Physiology

     The veins are converging channels.

   • 1790, Edmund Burke, Reflections on the Revolution in France

     At best, he is but a channel to convey to the National Assembly such matter as may import that body to know.

6. A gutter; a groove, as in a fluted column.
7. (electronics) A connection between initiating and terminating nodes of a circuit.

   The guard-rail provided the channel between the downed wire and the tree.

8. (electronics) The narrow conducting portion of a MOSFET transistor.
9. (communication) The part that connects a data source to a data sink.

   A channel stretches between them.

10. (communication) A path for conveying electrical or electromagnetic signals, usually distinguished from other parallel paths.

    We are using one of the 24 channels.

11. (communication) A single path provided by a transmission medium via physical separation, such as by multipair cable.

    The channel is created by bonding the signals from these four pairs.

12. (communication) A single path provided by a transmission medium via spectral or protocol separation, such as by frequency or time-division multiplexing.

    Their call is being carried on channel 6 of the T-1 line.

13. (broadcasting) A specific radio frequency or band of frequencies, usually in conjunction with a predetermined letter, number, or codeword, and allocated by international agreement.

    KNDD is the channel at 107.7 MHz in Seattle.

14. (broadcasting) A specific radio frequency or band of frequencies used for transmitting television.

    NBC is on channel 11 in San Jose.

    • 2008, Lou Schuler, "Foreward", in Nate Green, Built for Show, page xi

      TV back then was five channels (three networks, PBS, and an independent station that ran I Love Lucy reruns), […]

15. (storage) The portion of a storage medium, such as a track or a band, that is accessible to a given reading or writing station or head.

    This chip in this disk drive is the channel device.

16. (technic) The way in a turbine pump where the pressure is built up.

    The liquid is pressurized in the lateral channel.

17. (business, marketing) A distribution channel
18. (Internet) A particular area for conversations on an IRC network, analogous to a chat room and often dedicated to a specific topic.
19. (Internet, historical) A means of delivering up-to-date Internet content.
    • 1999, Jeffrey S Rule, Dynamic HTML: The HTML Developer's Guide

      Netcaster is the "receiver" for channels that are built into Netscape 4.01 and later releases.
20. A psychic or medium who temporarily takes on the personality of somebody else.

Synonyms

• (narrow body of water between two land masses) passage, sound, strait
• (for television) side (dated British, from when there were only two channels), station (US)
• (groove, as in a fluted column) groove, gutter

Derived terms

Related terms

• canal

Descendants

• ? Japanese: ????? (channeru)
• ? Korean: ?? (chaeneol)
• ? Welsh: sianel

Translations

Etymology 2

From Middle English chanelen, from the noun (see above).

Verb

channel (third-person singular simple present channels, present participle channeling or channelling, simple past and past participle channelled or channeled)

1. (transitive) To make or cut a channel or groove in.
2. (transitive) To direct or guide along a desired course.

   We will channel the traffic to the left with these cones.

3. (transitive, of a spirit, as of a dead person) To serve as a medium for.

   She was channeling the spirit of her late husband, Seth.

4. (transitive) To follow as a model, especially in a performance.

   He was trying to channel President Reagan, but the audience wasn't buying it.

   When it is my turn to sing karaoke, I am going to channel Ray Charles.

Derived terms

• backchannel

Translations

Etymology 3

From a corruption of chainwale.

Noun

channel (plural channels)

1. (nautical) The wale of a sailing ship which projects beyond the gunwale and to which the shrouds attach via the chains. One of the flat ledges of heavy plank bolted edgewise to the outside of a vessel, to increase the spread of the shrouds and carry them clear of the bulwarks.

References

• channel at OneLook Dictionary Search

English

Pronunciation

• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /?t??.?nt/
• (General American) IPA^(key): /?t??.?nt/
• (NYC) IPA^(key): /?t??.?nt/

Etymology 1

From French torrent, from Italian torrente, from Latin torrentem, accusative of torr?ns (“burning, seething, roaring”), from Latin torr?re (“to parch, scorch”).

Noun

torrent (plural torrents)

1. A violent flow, as of water, lava, etc.; a stream suddenly raised and running rapidly, as down a precipice.
2. (figuratively) A large amount or stream of something.
   • 1907, E.M. Forster, The Longest Journey, Part III, XXXI [Uniform ed., p. 278]:

     On the banks of the grey torrent of life, love is the only flower.

Derived terms

Related terms

• torrid
• toast

Translations

Adjective

torrent (comparative more torrent, superlative most torrent)

1. Rolling or rushing in a rapid stream.

See also

• barrage
• inundate
• deluge
• torrential

Etymology 2

From BitTorrent and the file extension it uses for metadata (.torrent).

Noun

torrent (plural torrents)

1. (Internet, file sharing) A set of files obtainable through a peer-to-peer network, especially BitTorrent.

Translations

Verb

torrent (third-person singular simple present torrents, present participle torrenting, simple past and past participle torrented)

1. (Internet slang, transitive) To download in a torrent.

Derived terms

• torrenter

Catalan

Noun

torrent m (plural torrents)

1. torrent

French

Etymology

From Italian torrente, from Latin torrens.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /t?.???/

Noun

torrent m (plural torrents)

1. A torrent

Descendants

• ? English: torrent
• ? Romanian: torent

Further reading

• “torrent” in Trésor de la langue française informatisé (The Digitized Treasury of the French Language).

Latin

Verb

torrent

1. third-person plural present active indicative of torre?

Welsh

Alternative forms

• torren (colloquial)

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /?t?r?nt/

Verb

torrent

1. (literary) third-person plural imperfect/conditional of torri
2. (literary) third-person plural imperative of torri

Mutation