CASCADE


Meaning of CASCADE in English

I. (ˈ)ka|skād noun

( -s )

Etymology: French, from Italian cascata, from cascare to fall, from (assumed) Vulgar Latin casicare, from Latin casus, past participle of cadere to fall — more at chance

1. : a fall of water over steeply slanting rocks (as in a river or brook) ; especially : a small fall or one of a series

2.

a. : something arranged, formed, or piled up in a series of steps or ranks

the cascades of the Deville glacier

b. : series 8

c. : a fall of material (as lace) that is so arranged in folds at the upper edge that the lower edge hangs in a zigzag line and that is used especially in clothing and draperies

d. : a succession of stages (as in a process or in the arrangement of the parts of an apparatus) in which each stage derives from or acts, sometimes cumulatively, upon the product or output of the preceding

relays in cascade

a cascade amplifier

a distillation column is a cascade with each plate representing a stage — Richard Stephenson

e. : a series of equally spaced and similarly oriented airfoils or hydrofoils that direct the flow of a fluid (as the stator blades direct the flow of air in a compressor)

3.

a. : something falling or rushing forth in quantity

a cascade of sound so great that you cannot hear a word anyone says — Douglas Brown

b. : an arrangement of flowers fastened together so that an extended part or strip trails down from the main body

II. verb

( -ed/-ing/-s )

intransitive verb

1. : to fall or pour in or as if in a cascade

the price cascaded to 140 — F.L.Allen

cascaded down a flight of steps and spilled into the street — Truman Capote

2. dialect : vomit

transitive verb

1. : to cause to fall like a cascade

2. also cascade-connect : to connect in cascade (as an electric circuit)

3. : to carry out (as a manufacturing process) in a number of stages

Webster's New International English Dictionary.      Новый международный словарь английского языка Webster.