undercurrent.
A current of water which flows under the surface, and often in a different direction from surface currents.
Meaning & usage
A current of water which flows under the surface, and often in a different direction from surface currents.
A tendency of feeling or opinion that is concealed rather than exposed.
The meeting was pervaded with an undercurrent of dread, as the managers tried not to admit that firings were looming.
Where this word comes from
Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *h₁én Proto-Indo-European *-tér Proto-Indo-European *h₁entér Proto-Indo-European *h₂én Proto-Indo-European *dʰeh₁-? Proto-Indo-European *-dʰi ? Proto-Indo-European *(H)n̥dʰí Proto-Indo-European *-ér Proto-Indo-European *(H)n̥dʰér Proto-Germanic *under Proto-West Germanic *undar Old English under- Middle English under- English under- Proto-Indo-European *ḱers- Proto-Indo-European *-éti Proto-Indo-European *ḱr̥séti Proto-Italic *korzō Latin currere Old French corre Old French curantbor. Middle English curraunt English current English undercurrent From under- + current.
To flow under some surface.
Where this word comes from
Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *h₁én Proto-Indo-European *-tér Proto-Indo-European *h₁entér Proto-Indo-European *h₂én Proto-Indo-European *dʰeh₁-? Proto-Indo-European *-dʰi ? Proto-Indo-European *(H)n̥dʰí Proto-Indo-European *-ér Proto-Indo-European *(H)n̥dʰér Proto-Germanic *under Proto-West Germanic *undar Old English under- Middle English under- English under- Proto-Indo-European *ḱers- Proto-Indo-European *-éti Proto-Indo-European *ḱr̥séti Proto-Italic *korzō Latin currere Old French corre Old French curantbor. Middle English curraunt English current English undercurrent From under- + current.
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Definitions, grammatical labels, IPA, etymology and examples: Wiktionary contributors, extracted by Kaikki / Wiktextract. Adapted under CC BY-SA 4.0. Selected fields and authored examples are shown; third-party quotations and audio are omitted. See contributor history.
Last enriched 2026-09-10. Definitions are in English. Romanizations are shown when supplied by the source; syllable estimates are omitted for unsupported scripts.