confluence

Etymology

Late Middle English, borrowing from Late Latin cōnfluentia (“a flowing together, conflux”), from cōnfluēns (present participle of cōnfluō (“to flow or run together”)) + -ia (nominal suffix).

noun

1. The act of combining that occurs where two rivers meet.
   1. The place where two rivers, streams, or other continuously flowing bodies of water meet and become one, especially where a tributary joins a river.
      We encountered an abandoned boat at the confluence of the Mississippi and Ohio Rivers.
   2. The stream or body formed by the junction of two or more streams; a combined flood.
2. A convergence or combination of forces, people, or things.
   The confluence of our skills resulted in a successful home renovation project.
   The political turmoil was the result of a confluence of factors, and the corollary of years of misrule, as evidenced by a low home ownership rate incommensurate with the economic growth.
3. (biology) The proportion of cells, in a culture medium, that adhere to each other.
4. (computer science, in rewriting systems) A property describing which terms can be rewritten with other, equivalent terms.