Streaming

Part of speech: verb, noun

Pronunciation: /ˈstɹiːmɪŋ/

Definitions

1. Sending data, especially audio or video, over the internet so it can be played immediately without downloading ; the continuous movement of water or another fluid in one direction, like in a river or stream
2. Delivering media content in real-time over a network to allow instant access ; the steady current of liquid or gas flowing steadily along a path
3. Broadcasting information or entertainment online without complete download ; the unbroken flow of a liquid or substance moving consistently through an area

Etymology: The noun "stream" goes back to Old English "strēam," and the verb-derived "streaming" is simple English building: a Middle English noun "stremynge" formed from "stream" plus the "-ing" ending that turns an action into a noun. Its earliest recorded sense was the plain, physical one, the steady movement of water along a channel, and the word meant exactly what it looks like: something continuously flowing. The modern computing sense grew out of that same picture. Data that arrives in a continuous flow, piece by piece, rather than as one finished package, was described as streaming, and the idea was applied to audio and video that play while they are still arriving. The metaphor is the river again: the material moves past you steadily, and you catch it as it goes by rather than waiting for the whole body of water to collect in a basin first.

Synonyms: transmitting, broadcasting, flowing, spilling, pouring

Antonyms: stopping, ceasing, drying, withholding, cutting off