ETYM as. streám; akin to OFries. strâm, os. strôm, Dutch stroom, German strom, Old High Germ. stroum, strűm, Dan. and Swed. ström, Icel. straumr, Irish sroth, Lith. srove, Russ. struia, Greek rysis a flowing, rein to flow, Skr. sru. Related to Catarrh, Diarrhea, Rheum, Rhythm.
1. A natural body of running water flowing on or under the earth; SYN. watercourse.
2. Dominant course (suggestive of running water) of successive events or ideas; SYN. flow, current.
3. Something that resembles a flowing stream in moving continuously; SYN. flow.

1. To exude profusely
2. To flow freely and abundantly; SYN. well out.
3. To extend, wave or float outward, as if in the wind:

Any data transmission, such as the movement of a file between disk and memory, that occurs in a continuous flow. Manipulating a data stream is a programming task. Consumers, however, are likely to encounter references to streams and streaming in connection to the Internet, which has increased reliance on stream techniques to enable users (even those with slower equipment) to access large multimedia files—especially those containing audio and video components—and to display or play them before all the data has been transferred.

To transfer data continuously, beginning to end, in a steady flow. Many aspects of computing rely on the ability to stream data: file input and output, for example, and communications. If necessary, an application receiving a stream must be able to save the information to a buffer in order to prevent loss of data. On the Internet, streaming enables users to begin accessing and using a file before it has been transmitted in its entirety.