CHANNEL

I. noun see: canal Date: 14th century 1. the bed where a natural stream of water runs, the deeper part of a river, harbor, or strait, a strait or narrow sea between two close landmasses, a means of communication or expression: as, a path along which information (as data or music) in the form of an electrical signal passes, a fixed or official course of communication , a way, course, or direction of thought or action , a band of frequencies of sufficient width for a single radio or television communication, ~er , 2. a usually tubular enclosed passage ; conduit , a passage created in a selectively permeable cell membrane by a conformational change in membrane proteins, a long gutter, groove, or furrow, a metal bar of flattened U-shaped section, II. transitive verb (-neled or -nelled; -neling or -nelling) Date: 15th century 1. to form, cut, or wear a ~ in, to make a groove in , to convey or direct into or through a ~ , to serve as a ~er or intermediary for, III. noun Etymology: alteration of chainwale, from 1chain + 1wale Date: 1769 one of the flat ledges of heavy plank or metal bolted edgewise to the outside of a ship to increase the spread of the shrouds