Siphon

Part of speech: noun, verb

Pronunciation: /ˈsaɪfən/

Definitions

1. A tube or pipe through which liquid is drawn upward and over the edge of a container to flow downward into another receptacle, or to gradually extract or redirect resources in a covert manner
2. A method of transferring liquid from one space to another using a tube that relies on gravity and pressure change, often suggesting the surreptitious taking of resources
3. A device used to move fluid from one location to another by utilizing a tube that operates on the principle of gravity and pressure differences, often implying the secretive appropriation of materials

Etymology: The Greek word "síphōn" originally meant a pipe or tube, and its ancestry is a puzzle: it may be linked to Latin "tibia", a flute made of bone, though the irregular forms hint at a borrowing from a language outside the Indo-European family. The Romans took it as "sīphō", and it passed into Old French as "sifon" before reaching English through Middle French. The word's modern sense of secretly draining something away is the part that surprises. A siphon is simply a bent tube that moves liquid uphill and over a barrier, using the pull of gravity on the lower end once the tube is filled. Nothing about the device implies theft, yet that is how the verb "to siphon" came to describe quietly diverting funds, fuel, or information, as if the tube were working unseen in someone else's container.

Synonyms: tube, pipe, conduit