Definition: current
current
adj : occurring in or belonging to the present time; "current
events"; "the current topic"; "current negotiations";
"current psychoanalytic theories"; "the ship's current
position" [ant: noncurrent]
n 1: a flow of electricity through a conductor; "the current was
measured in amperes" [syn: electric current]
2: a steady flow (usually from natural causes); "the raft
floated downstream on the current"; "he felt a stream of
air" [syn: stream]
3: dominant course (suggestive of running water) of successive
events or ideas: "two streams of development run through
American history"; "stream of consciousness"; "the flow of
thought"; "the current of history" [syn: stream, flow]
Source: Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913)
Current \Cur"rent\, n. [Cf. F. courant. See Current, a. ]
1. A flowing or passing; onward motion. Hence: A body of
fluid moving continuously in a certain direction; a
stream; esp., the swiftest part of it; as, a current of
water or of air; that which resembles a stream in motion;
as, a current of electricity.
Two such silver currents, when they join, Do glorify
the banks that bound them in. --Shak.
The surface of the ocean is furrowed by currents,
whose direction . . . the navigator should know.
--Nichol.
2. General course; ordinary procedure; progressive and
connected movement; as, the current of time, of events, of
opinion, etc.
Current meter, an instrument for measuring the velocity,
force, etc., of currents.
Current mill, a mill driven by a current wheel.
Current wheel, a wheel dipping into the water and driven by
the current of a stream or by the ebb and flow of the
tide.
Syn: Stream; course. See Stream.
Current \Cur"rent\ (k?r"rent), a. [OE. currant, OF. curant, corant, p. pr. of curre, corre, F. courre, courir, to run, from L. currere; perh. akin to E. horse. Cf. Course, Concur, Courant, Coranto.] 1. Running or moving rapidly. [Archaic] Like the current fire, that renneth Upon a cord. --Gower. To chase a creature that was current then In these wild woods, the hart with golden horns. --Tennyson. 2. Now passing, as time; as, the current month. 3. Passing from person to person, or from hand to hand; circulating through the community; generally received; common; as, a current coin; a current report; current history. That there was current money in Abraham's time is past doubt. --Arbuthnot. Your fire-new stamp of honor is scarce current. --Shak. His current value, which is less or more as men have occasion for him. --Grew. 4. Commonly estimated or acknowledged. 5. Fitted for general acceptance or circulation; authentic; passable. O Buckingham, now do I play the touch To try if thou be current gold indeed. --Shak. Account current. See under Account. Current money, lawful money. --Abbott.
Source: The Free On-line Dictionary of Computing (2003-OCT-10)
current <electronics> The quantity of charge per unit time, measured in Amperes (Amps, A). By historical convention, the sign of current is positive for currents flowing from positive to negative potential, but experience indicates that electrons are negatively charged and flow in the opposite direction. (1995-10-05)
