I was writing an e-mail to my colleagues about an upcoming teleconference and didn't want to inundate them with e-mails. Curiosity encouraged me to investigate its roots, and I found it to be related to flooding. Then I looked up barrage and also found it to be linked to water. Are there many words like this?

indundate [L. inundatus, p. of inundare to inundate; pref. in- in + undare to rise in waves, to overflow, fr. unda a wave. See Undulate.] 1. To cover with a flood; to overflow; to deluge; to flood; as, the river inundated the town.

barrage \Bar"rage\, n. [F., fr. barrer to bar, from barre bar.] (Engin.) An artificial bar or obstruction placed in a river or water course to increase the depth of water; as, the barrages of the Nile.

The word means "before the flood" -- that is the one that Noah was involved in. It is used jocularly to mean "extremely old-fashioned" or "out of date".

Years ago, a female friend of mine worked on a local production of the play "Two by Two," a musical based (somewhat) on the story of Noah and the ark. Each cast and crew member was given a sweatshirt featuring a nickname devised just for them and based on some aspect of the show.

My friend proudly displayed her new name: "Auntie Diluvian."

To "ebb" originally referred to the withdrawal of the tide; the figurative meaning evolved from that literal meaning. The phrase "ebb and flow" preserves this thought.

A tidal wave can refer to an overwhelming onrush of something other than water.

Niagara refers to a torrent or flood. From AHD: “engulfed by the Niagara of Americanisms that flowed over them” (Wall Street Journal).

Etymology is from Niagara Falls (20 miles north of Buffalo)

I have never been there but someone once told me that the falls are actually rather small. He shared with me a quotation that referred to the popularity of the destination for honeymoons and went, as I recall, "...The sight of Niagara Falls is the second biggest disappointent of a typical American's honeymoon..."

Was he being unfair?

Richard English

quote:

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Originally posted by Richard English:
I have never been there but someone once told me that the falls are actually rather small. He shared with me a quotation that referred to the popularity of the destination for honeymoons and went, as I recall, "...The sight of Niagara Falls is the second biggest disappointent of a typical American's honeymoon..."

Was he being unfair?

Richard English

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Niagara Falls are quite impressive but the view is rather spoiled by the development on both sides of viewing towers, hotels and shopping malls. I'm told, but haven't seen for myself, that the view from the Canadian side is better than the American view (which I have seen).
The ride on the Maid of the Mist down to the base of the falls is pretty impressive and extremely wet. The flimsy blue polythene waterproof that they give you wouldn't keep you dry in a Summer shower.

However the falls pale into complete insignificance when compared with their South American cousin the Iguassu Falls. These are at the point where Brazil,Argentina and Paraguay meet and are one of the most magnificent natural features I have ever seen anywhere in the World.

As Eleanor Roosevelt said when she saw them "Poor Niagara!"

A couple of pictures can be found on my web site. Here's a direct link to the page.

The pictures are near the bottom. If this is your first visit I'd appreciate it if you could also visit the Home page as that's where the hit counter gets updated.

Purgamentum init, exit purgamentum

Read all about my travels around the world here.

Niagara Falls is a beautiful sight to behold. I had the opportunity in November, to share this sight with a friend of mine who had never seen it before. He was in awe of the magnificence and I felt as though I was seeing it for the first time again, through his eyes.

I have posted two pictures of the Falls in a new photo album I developed in the community. Feel free to look at them and add some of your own. I have more pictures of the Falls that I would like to add, but I want to check with my aforementioned friend and see if he would mind them posted.

I love the idea of the new album.
While there are lots of pictures on my web site I have thousands (possibly tens of thousands) more that I could post.
Don't worry I'm not going to. I will dig out a couple though.
Maybe we could post a few hometown pictures there too.

Purgamentum init, exit purgamentum

Read all about my travels around the world here.

I would love to see some of those pictures, Bob. Thanks, Morgan, for those pictures of Niagra Falls. I have never seen the falls before, and they look magnificent! However, I must admit that I had heard comments similar to Richard's from other people. Likewise, I have heard from some that Hawaii is gorgeous--and from others that it is far too commercialized & expensive. I guess it is those differing opinions that keep the world interesting!

quote:

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Originally posted by wordnerd:
A _tidal wave_ can refer to an overwhelming onrush of something other than water.

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This brings up a very minor pet peeve of mine - people who use the term "tidal wave" when they mean "tsunami." The first term describes the gentle lapping back and forth of the water on your feet as you stand at the water's edge. The slowly changing of the tides is what causes the gentle waves, hence "tidal waves." Now "tsunami," a really great and under-appreciated word, describes the wall of water that destroys Tokyo on such a regular basis in all those old Japanese Godzilla movies. When Godzilla isn't in the neighborhood, tsunamis are usually caused by underwater earthquakes.

"Tidal wave" has been used for both conditions for so long that both terms are now listed as definitions for each other in many dictionaries which I think is a shame.