waterfall

See also:Waterfall

English

w:Dangar Falls,a waterfall in Australia(sense 1)

Etymology

FromMiddle Englishwaterfal,waterfalle,fromOld Englishwæterġefeall(“waterfall”),equivalent towater+‎fall.Cognate withWest Frisianwetterfal(“waterfall”),Dutchwaterval(“waterfall”),GermanWasserfall(“waterfall”),Swedishvattenfall(“waterfall”).

Pronunciation

• (UK)IPA^(key):/ˈwɔːtəfɔːl/
• (US)enPR:wôʹtər-fôl,IPA^(key):/ˈwɔtɚfɔl/
• (cot–caughtmerger)IPA^(key):/ˈwɑtɚfɑl/

• Audio(US):

  (file)

• Rhymes:-ɔːl

Noun

waterfall(pluralwaterfalls)

1. Aflowof water over theedgeof acliff.

   Synonyms:cataract,cascade,falls

2. (figuratively)A waterfall-likeoutpouringofliquid,smoke,etc.

   Awaterfallof mist came from the open freezer.

3. (technical,computing,slang)Waterfall model

   A very long duration project[…]had taken a whole group of people through a painfulwaterfalldevelopment process.

4. (slang,US)The action of drinking from a vessel without touching it with the lips, considered more sanitary for a shared vessel.

   Hey man, can I take awaterfallfrom your bottle?

5. (colloquial,dated)Anecktie.
6. (colloquial,dated)Achignon.
7. (colloquial,dated)Abeard.
   • 1870–1871(date written),Mark Twain[pseudonym; Samuel Langhorne Clemens], chapter LXXIX, inRoughing It,Hartford, Conn.: American Publishing Company[et al.],published1872,→OCLC,pages569–570:

     I found home a dreary place after my long absence; for half the children I had known were now wearing whiskers orwaterfalls,[…]

Synonyms

• (flow of water over the edge a cliff):cascade,cataract,sault

Derived terms

Derived terms

• coastal waterfall
• waterfall bong
• waterfall effect
• waterfall illusion
• waterfall model
• waterfall plot
• waterfall stomach

Translations

flow of water over the edge of a cliff—see alsocataract,‎falls

• Adyghe:псыкъефэх(psəqefɛx)
• Afrikaans:waterval(af)
• Ainu:ソ(so)
• Albanian:ujëvarë(sq)f,skuranë
• Amharic:ፏፏቴ(fʷafʷate)
• Amis:cascas
• Apache:

  Western Apache:túnálį́į́’

• Arabic:شَلَّالm(šallāl)

  Egyptian Arabic:شلّالm(šallāl)

  Hijazi Arabic:شَلَّالm(šallāl)

• Aragonese:salto d'auguam
• Armenian:ջրվեժ(hy)(ǰrvež)
• Asi:busáy
• Asturian:catarata(ast)f
• Avar:чвахи(čʷaxi)
• Azerbaijani:şəlalə(az)
• Bashkir:шарлауыҡ(şarlawıq)
• Basque:ur-jauzi
• Belarusian:вадаспа́дm(vadaspád)
• Bengali:ঝরনা(bn)(jhorna),জলপ্রপাত(bn)(jolopropat)
• Bihari:झरना
• Bikol Central:busay(bcl)
• Breton:lamm-dour
• Brunei Bisaya:wasai
• Brunei Malay:wasai,aing terajun
• Bulgarian:водопа́дm(vodopád)
• Burmese:ရေတံခွန်(my)(retamhkwan)
• Catalan:cascada(ca)f
• Cebuano:busay
• Central Dusun:wasai
• Chechen:чухчари(čuxčari)
• Cherokee:ᎠᎹᏍᎧᎦᎯ(amaskagahi)
• Chichewa:dziwe
• Chinese:

  Cantonese:Bộc bố(buk⁶bou³)

  Eastern Min:Bộc bố(bŭk-buó)

  Hakka:Bộc bố(phau-pu)

  Hokkien:Bộc bố(zh-min-nan)(pho̍k-pò͘)

  Mandarin:Bộc bố(zh)(pùbù)

  Wu:Bộc bố

• Chinook Jargon:tumwata
• Chuvash:шарлак(šarlak)
• Coastal Kadazan:vasai
• Cornish:dowrlam
• Czech:vodopád(cs)m
• Danish:vandfald(da)n
• Dupaningan Agta:tapaw
• Dutch:waterval(nl)f
• Eastern Bontoc:oto
• Erzya:ведьпрамо(veďpramo)
• Esperanto:akvofalo(eo),kaskado
• Estonian:kosk,juga(et)
• Faroese:fossur(fo)m
• Fijian:savu(fj)
• Finnish:vesiputous(fi)
• French:cascade(fr)f,chute d’eau(fr)f
• Galician:fervenzafcadoiromcachoeiraf,freixa,seimeira(gl)f,cenzaf
• Georgian:ჩანჩქერი(ka)(čančkeri)
• German:Wasserfall(de)m(common),Katarakt(de)m
• Greek:καταρράκτης(el)m(katarráktis)

  Ancient:καταρράκτηςm(katarrháktēs)

• Guaraní:ytu,chororo
• Gujarati:ધોધm(dhodh)
• Haitian Creole:kaskad
• Hawaiian:wailele
• Hebrew:מַפַּל מַיִם(he)m(mapál máyim)
• Hiligaynon:talogan
• Hindi:जलप्रपात(hi)m(jalaprapāt),आबशारf(ābśār),झरना(hi)m(jharnā)
• Hungarian:vízesés(hu),zuhatag(hu)
• Icelandic:foss(is)m
• Ido:aquofalo(io)
• Igbo:nsụda mmiri
• Ilocano:dissuor
• Indonesian:air terjun(id)
• Ingrian:koski
• Interlingua:cascada
• Inuktitut:ᖁᖅᓗᕐᓂᖅ(qoqlorniq)
• Iranun:aig a tibpu'
• Irish:eas(ga)m
• Italian:cascata(it)f
• Japanese:Lung(ja)(たき, taki),Bộc bố(ja)(ばくふ, bakufu)
• Javanese:ꦒꦿꦺꦴꦗꦺꦴꦒꦤ꧀(jv)(grojogan)
• Kannada:ಜಲಪಾತ(kn)(jalapāta),ಧಬಧಬೆ(kn)(dhabadhabe),ಅಬ್ಬಿ(kn)(abbi),ಜೋಗು(kn)(jōgu),ನೀರಿನ ಬೀಳು(kn)(nīrina bīḷu)
• Kapampangan:tulari
• Karachay-Balkar:чучхур(çuçxur)
• Kazakh:құлама(qūlama),сарқырама(kk)(sarqyrama)
• Khmer:ទឹកធ្លាក់(tɨk thlĕək)
• Kimaragang:vasoi
• Kinaray-a:tarogan
• Korean:폭포( bộc bố )(ko)(pokpo)
• Kumyk:шаршар(şarşar)
• Kurdish:

  Central Kurdish:تاڤگە(ckb)(tavge)

  Northern Kurdish:gilale(ku),sûlav(ku)f

• Kyrgyz:шаркыратма(ky)(şarkıratma),шаркырама(ky)(şarkırama)
• Lao:ນ້ຳຕົກຕາດ(nam tok tāt),ນ້ຳຕົກ(nam tok),ຕົກຕາດ(tok tāt),ນ້ຳຕາດ(nam tāt),ນ້ຳໂຕນຕາດ(nam tōn tāt),ນ້ຳໂຕນຜາ(nam tōn phā),ໂຕນຕາດ(tōn tāt)
• Latin:cataractaf,aquaedēiectusm,aquadēsiliēnsf
• Latvian:ūdenskritumsm
• Limburgish:waterval(li)
• Lithuanian:krioklysm
• Lotud:wasai
• Lü:please add this translation if you can
• Lubuagan Kalinga:teub
• Luxembourgish:Waasserfall(lb)m
• Macedonian:водопадm(vodopad)
• Malagasy:riana(mg),rian-drano(mg)
• Malay:air terjun(ms),air memancur
• Malayalam:വെള്ളച്ചാട്ടം(veḷḷaccāṭṭaṁ)
• Maltese:kaskataf
• Manchu:ᡨᡠᡵᠠᡴᡡ(turakū)
• Manx:easm
• Maori:tāheke,hīrere,hohō
• Mapudungun:trayken
• Marathi:धबधबाm(dhabadhbā)
• Mari:

  Eastern Mari:вӱдшуҥгалтыш(vüdšuŋgaltyš)

• Minangkabau:sarasah(min)
• Mingrelian:წყარგელაფუ(c̣q̇argelapu)
• Mon:ဍာ်ဆၚ်
• Mongolian:

  Cyrillic:хүрхрээ(mn)(xürxree)

• Navajo:hadahiilį́
• Nepali:झरना(ne)(jharanā)
• Newar:झ्वाला(jhwālā)
• Northern Thai:please add this translation if you can
• Norwegian:

  Bokmål:foss(no)m,fossefalln,vannfalln

  Nynorsk:foss(nn)m,fossefalln,vassfalln

• Occitan:cascada(oc)f,chorrèra(oc)f
• Old Church Slavonic:

  Cyrillic:хлѧбьf(xlębĭ)

• Old English:wæterġefealln
• Old Norse:fors
• Oromo:finchaa(om)
• Ossetian:ӕхсӕрдзӕн(æxsærʒæn)
• Pashto:آبشار(ps)m(ābšār),زاوهf(zāwa),بربړوکm(barbaṛuk),ګړونګهf(gaṛunga)
• Persian:آبشار(fa)(âbšâr)
• Pitjantjatjara:waḻa
• Plautdietsch:Wotafaul
• Polish:wodospad(pl)m
• Portuguese:cachoeira(pt)f,queda-d'água(pt)f,cascata(pt)f,salto(pt)m,catarata(pt)
• Punjabi:ਝਰਨਾm(jharnā)
• Quechua:phaqcha,pagca,pagza
• Romanian:cascadă(ro)f,cădere de apă(ro)f
• Rungus:vosoi
• Russian:водопа́д(ru)m(vodopád)
• Sanskrit:जलपातm(jalapāta),जलप्रपात(sa)m(jalaprapāta)
• Santali:ᱡᱷᱟᱨᱱᱟ(jharna)
• Sardinian:ciurràrgium
• Scots:watterfaw
• Scottish Gaelic:linnef,eas(gd)m
• Serbo-Croatian:

  Cyrillic:во̏допа̄дm,сла̑пm,бу̑кm

  Roman:vȍdopād(sh)m,slȃp(sh)m,bȗk(sh)m

• Shan:please add this translation if you can
• Shona:mapopoma
• Sinhalese:දිය ඇල්ල(diya ælla)
• Skolt Sami:kuõškk
• Slovak:vodopádm
• Slovene:slap(sl)m
• Somali:biyo-dhac
• Sorbian:

  Upper Sorbian:wodopad

• Southern Kalinga:pakungupung,poy-asan
• Spanish:catarata(es)f,cascada(es)f,caída de aguaf
• Sundanese:ᮎᮥᮛᮥᮌ᮪(curug),curug(su)
• Swahili:maangukoclass5/6
• Swedish:vattenfall(sv)n
• Tagal Murut:bosoi
• Tagalog:talon
• Tajik:обшор(obšor),шаршара(šaršara),шалола(šalola)
• Tambunan Dusun:wasai
• Tamil:நீர்வீழ்ச்சி(ta)(nīrvīḻcci)
• Tarifit:ašaršarm
• Tatar:шарлавык(tt)(şarlawıq)
• Telugu:జలపాతము(te)(jalapātamu)
• Thai:น้ำตก(th)(náam-dtòk)
• Tibetan:བབས་ཆུ(babs chu)
• Timugon Murut:bosoi
• Tulu:ಜಲಪಾತ(jalapāta)
• Turkish:şelale(tr),(small) çağlayan,(big) çavlan
• Turkmen:şaglawuk
• Ukrainian:водоспа́д(uk)m(vodospád)
• Urdu:آبشار(ur)f(ābśār)
• Uyghur:شارقىراتما(sharqiratma)
• Uzbek:sharshara(uz),shalola(uz)
• Vietnamese:thác nước(vi),thác(vi)
• Voro:viisadang
• Walloon:ertcheute d' aiwe
• Waray-Waray:tubighóg
• Welsh:rhaeadrf,pistyllm,sgwdm
• West Coast Bajau:boe' pansur
• West Frisian:wetterfalc
• Western Panjabi:چھمبر(pnb)
• White Hmong:please add this translation if you can
• Xhosa:ingxangxasiclass9/10
• Yakut:күрүлгэн(kürülgen)
• Yiddish:וואַסערפֿאַל(vaserfal)
• Yoruba:isosileomi
• Zhuang:raemxgienghdat
• Zulu:impophomaclass9/10

waterfall-like outpouring

• Arabic:شَلَّالm(šallāl)
• Chinese:

  Mandarin:Bộc bố(zh)(pùbù)

• Czech:vodopád(cs)m
• Dutch:waterval(nl)f
• Finnish:hyöky
• German:Wasserfall(de)m,Kaskade(de)f
• Hebrew:מפל(he)m(mapál)
• Hungarian:zuhatag(hu)
• Italian:cascata(it)f
• Japanese:Lung(ja)(たき, taki)
• Kannada:ಅಬ್ಬಿ(kn)(abbi)
• Macedonian:водопадm(vodopad)
• Norwegian:foss(no)m
• Persian:آبشار(fa)(âbšâr),فوران(fa)(favarân)
• Polish:wodospad(pl)m
• Portuguese:cascata(pt)f
• Romanian:cascadă(ro)f
• Russian:водопа́д(ru)m(vodopád),каска́д(ru)m(kaskád)
• Serbo-Croatian:

  Cyrillic:во̏допа̄дm

  Roman:vȍdopād(sh)m

• Spanish:cascada(es)f
• Swedish:vattenfall(sv)n,fors(sv)c
• Welsh:rhaeadr,pistyll,sgwd

The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables. See instructions atWiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.

Translations to be checked

• Esperanto:^{(pleaseverify)}akvofalo(eo)
• Ido:^{(pleaseverify)}kaskado(io),^{(pleaseverify)}aquofalo(io)
• Indonesian:^{(pleaseverify)}air terjun(id)
• Malayalam:^{(pleaseverify)}വെള്ളച്ചാട്ടം(veḷḷaccāṭṭaṁ)
• Maltese:^{(pleaseverify)}nixxiegħaf
• Tamil:^{(pleaseverify)}நீர்வீழ்ச்சி(ta)(nīrvīḻcci)
• Telugu:^{(pleaseverify)}జలపాతం(te)(jalapātaṁ)

Verb

waterfall(third-person singular simple presentwaterfalls,present participlewaterfalling,simple past and past participlewaterfalled)

1. (intransitive)To fall like a waterfall.
   • 1994,Nora Roberts,Private Scandals,page54:

     Rain ran off the bill of his fielder's cap andwaterfalledin front of his face.

   • 1999,Jane Yolen with Bruce Coville,Armageddon Summer,page79:

     Zondra, whose dirty-blond hairwaterfalledabove her head from a colorful tie, gave a snorting, horsey kind of laugh.

   • 2008,John Gardner,No Human Enemy,page156:

     they turned into the drive of The Manor with its red-brick front and the wonderful cloak of Virginia creeperwaterfallingdown between the windows.

2. (transitive)To drink (something) from a container by pouring it from a height so as not to touch one's lips to the rim.
3. (roller derby)Synonym ofrecycle

Derived terms

• waterfalled
• waterfalling

See also

• cloudfall
• icefall
• smokefall
• forcefall