Drift

== German == === Pronunciation === IPA(key): /dʁɪft/ === Etymology 1 === Low German doublet of Trift (“path on which livestock is driven”). From Middle Low German drift, from Proto-West Germanic *drifti, from the verb *drīban, whence German treiben (“to drive”). Compare English drift. ==== Noun ==== Drift f (genitive Drift, plural (rare) Driften) (nautical) violent stream or swell (of the sea) (chiefly nautical or aviation) drift, drifting (movement caused by external powers such as current or wind) (figurative, higher register) drift, tendency, gradual long-term development synonym of Treibgut (“floating debris”) ===== Declension ===== ===== Alternative forms ===== Trift (dated for these senses) ===== Derived terms ===== === Etymology 2 === Deverbal from driften, itself denominal from etymology 1 above. ==== Noun ==== Drift m (strong, genitive Drifts, plural Drifts) (sports, e.g. skiing) drift, an instance of drifting (decelerating movement diametrical to the main direction) ===== Declension ===== === Further reading === “Drift”, in Digitales Wörterbuch der deutschen Sprache‎[1] (in German) “Drift (Strömung)” in Duden online “Drift (Fahrweise)” in Duden online “Drift” in Deutsches Wörterbuch von Jacob und Wilhelm Grimm, Neubearbeitung (A–F).