river
UK[ˈrɪvə]US[ˈrɪvər]
n
a natural wide flow of fresh water across the land into the sea, a lake, or another river
Etymology
The English word 'river' has a journey that traces back to the Latin term 'ripa', meaning the bank or shore of a watercourse. It was borrowed into Anglo-Norman French as 'rivere', shifting in meaning from the 'bank' to the flowing body of water itself. This French term was adopted into Middle English, solidifying its modern sense. The semantic evolution from 'bank' to 'stream' reflects a common metonymic process where the name for a defining feature comes to represent the whole entity.
Analysis
The word 'river' is a simplex word derived from the Anglo-Norman French 'rivere', which itself came from the Latin 'ripa' meaning 'bank of a river'. It entered English as a single, unanalyzable unit in its modern form.
Examples
The River Thames flows through London.
They went fishing in the river.
Heavy rain caused the river to overflow its banks.