surge
/sɝd͡ʒ/
Word Rarity
Rare
Frequency: Zipf frequency 3.82 in modern English
6
Scrabble Score
5
Letters
1
Syllables
5
Unique Chars
Meaning
noun
The maximum amplitude of a vehicle's forward/backward oscillation.
noun
A momentary reversal of the airflow through the compressor section of a jet engine due to disruption of the airflow entering the engine's air intake, accompanied by loud banging noises, emission of flame, and temporary loss of thrust.
Example Sentences
- "He felt a surge of excitement."
- "As President Obama turns his attention once again to filling out a cabinet and writing an Inaugural Address, this much is clear: he should not expect to bask in a surge of national unity, or to witness a crowd of millions overrun the Mall just to say they were there."
- "A power surge at that generator created a blackout across the whole district."
- "When the diesel was being worked full out, the ammeter normally showed about 1,500-1,600 amps, with occasional surges of current at starting or up the steepest gradients to 1,700 or even 1,800 amps."
- "He that doubteth is like the surge of the sea driven by the wind and tossed."
- "He flies aloft, and, with impetuous roar, / Pursues the foaming surges to the shore."
Etymology
The verb is from Middle English ^((please verify)) surgen, possibly from Middle French sourgir, from Old French surgir (“to rise, ride near the shore, arrive, land”), from Old Catalan surgir, from Latin surgō, contraction of surrigō, subrigō (“lift up, raise, erect; intransitive rise, arise, get up, spring up, grow, etc.”, transitive verb), from sub (“from below; up”) + regō (“to stretch”), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *h₃réǵeti (“to straighten; right”), from the root *h₃reǵ-; see regent. Doublet of source and sourd. The noun is from the verb.
Origin
Word Breakdown
Regional Pronunciation
- American English: /sɝd͡ʒ/
- British English: /sɜːd͡ʒ/
Usage
- American usage
- Intransitive verb
- Transitive verb
- Obsolete