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Added 7 October 2026

river

/ˈɹɪvə/ noun

In Latin: flūmen, fluvius, amnis Wiktionary

noun Definition from WordNet 3.1, Princeton University. Pronunciation from Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org. More about river at Wordnik → Where our words come from →

A large natural stream of water (larger than a creek).
the river was navigable for 50 miles

Origin

From Middle English ryver, from Anglo-Norman rivere, from Early Medieval Latin rīpāria (“littoral, riverbank”), from Latin rīpārius (“of a riverbank”), from Latin rīpa (“river bank”), from Proto-Indo-European *h₁reyp- (“to scratch, tear, cut”). Unrelated to Latin rīvus (“stream”) (whence rival, derive). Doublet of riviera and rivière. Displaced native Old English ēa.

From Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org (CC BY-SA)

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