diffluence

American  

[dif-loo-uhns] / ˈdɪf lu əns /

noun

1. the act of flowing off or away.

2. the act or process of dissolving into a liquid; liquefaction; deliquescence.

3. the rate at which fluid flow diverges along an axis perpendicular to the direction of flow at a given point.

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Etymology

Origin of diffluence

First recorded in 1625–35; difflu(ent) + -ence

Example Sentences

Meanwhile, the diffluence causes a spreading and flattening of the sarcode and swimming gives place to creeping, while the flagella violently lash.

From Scientific American Supplement, No. 470, January 3, 1885 by Various

They could not have "moved," but probably "went to smash" by a process peculiar to infusoria, and which Dujardin politely describes as "diffluence."

From Marvels of Pond-life A Year's Microscopic Recreations by Slack, Henry J.