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Added 9 October 2026

flow

/ˈfləʊ̯/ noun

In Latin: fluxus Coined: 1975, by Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi Wiktionary

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

The motion characteristic of fluids (liquids or gases).
The amount of fluid that flows in a given time.
The act of flowing or streaming; continuous progression.

verb

Move or progress freely as if in a stream.
The crowd flowed out of the stadium
Move along, of liquids.
Water flowed into the cave
Cause to flow.
The artist flowed the washes on the paper

Origin

From Middle English flowe, from the verb (see below). The psychology sense “state of focus” was coined by Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi in 1975.

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

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