undercurrent
/ˈʌndɚˌkʌɹənt/
Word Rarity
Rare
Frequency: Zipf frequency 2.67 in modern English
15
Scrabble Score
12
Letters
4
Syllables
7
Unique Chars
Meaning
Example Sentences
- "For that an undercurrent (which ſome have beleived,) in the ſtraights-mouth, will not ſolve this difficulty, unleſs occaſioned by a vaſt Gulf that muſt be placed ſomewhere in the Atlantic near the Mouth of the ſtraight, which though overflown and hidden by that mighty ſea, yet may poſſibly abſorb the deeper waters, and ſo cauſe a contrary undercurrent."
- "[W]e have a surface current of saltish water from the poles towards the equator, and an undercurrent of water, saltier and heavier, from the equator to the poles. This undercurrent supplies in a great measure the salt which the upper current, freighted with fresh water from the clouds and rivers, carries back."
- "The meeting was pervaded with an undercurrent of dread, as the managers tried not to admit that firings were looming."
- "All the while there was a busy undercurrent in her, like the thought of a man who keeps up a dialogue while he is considering how he can slip away."
- "Voltaire showed little respect for any conventionality which did not command his acquiescence; yet it may be doubted whether an undercurrent of affectation does not more or less mar the effect of everything he has written."
- "A vaguely defined genre (as the name announces, it was first noticed by the French), Film Noir is one of the more complex and intelligent Hollywood styles. Part detective story, part gangster, part urban melodrama, Film Noir was identified best by its dark and pessimistic undercurrents."
Etymology
Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *h₁én Proto-Indo-European *-tér Proto-Indo-European *h₁entér Proto-Indo-European *h₂én Proto-Indo-European *dʰeh₁-? Proto-Indo-European *-dʰi ? Proto-Indo-European *(H)n̥dʰí Proto-Indo-European *-ér Proto-Indo-European *(H)n̥dʰér Proto-Germanic *under Proto-West Germanic *undar Old English under- Middle English under- English under- Proto-Indo-European *ḱers- Proto-Indo-European *-éti Proto-Indo-European *ḱr̥séti Proto-Italic *korzō Latin currere Old French corre Old French curantbor. Middle English curraunt English current English undercurrent From under- + current.
Regional Pronunciation
- American English: /ˈʌndɚˌkʌɹənt/
- British English: /ˈʌndəkʌɹ(ə)nt/