Millrace

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A channel that carries water from a source to a mill's wheel ; the flowing water itself within that channel
2. A watercourse built to direct water toward a mill wheel ; the stream of water moving through such a passage
3. An artificial channel supplying water to power a mill ; the current or stream flowing through the channel to turn the mill's mechanism

Etymology: A millrace is the channel that carries water to a mill wheel, and the word is about as literal as English compounds get: "mill" plus "race." The second element is the interesting one. "Race" comes from Old Norse "rás," meaning a running or a rush of water, and it reached English in the sense of a swift current or a channel for moving water rather than a contest of speed. That watery meaning is the older one, and it survives in other compounds such as "tailrace" and "headrace." The "mill" part is older still, going back through Old English "mylen" to Latin "molina," a derivative of "mola," millstone. So the word joins two very old ideas: grinding grain and a stream hurrying along to turn the wheel that does it. Both parts were in regular use in English well before the compound appeared, and it was formed plainly from them, so the history is transparent rather than a story of a single coinage.

Synonyms: mill run, water channel