river

Etymology 1

From Middle English ryver, river, rivere, from Anglo-Norman rivere, from Old French riviere, from Vulgar Latin *rīpāria (“riverbank, seashore, river”), from Latin rīpārius (“of a riverbank”), from Latin rīpa (“river bank”), from Proto-Indo-European *h₁reyp- (“to scratch, tear, cut”). Doublet of riviera and rivière. Displaced native Old English ēa.

noun

1. A large and often winding stream which drains a land mass, carrying water down from higher areas to a lower point, oftentimes ending in another body of water, such as an ocean or in an inland sea.
   Occasionally rivers overflow their banks and cause floods.
   Floods in northern India, mostly in the small state of Uttarakhand, have wrought disaster on an enormous scale. The early, intense onset of the monsoon on June 14th swelled rivers, washing away roads, bridges, hotels and even whole villages. Rock-filled torrents smashed vehicles and homes, burying victims under rubble and sludge. 2013-06-29, “High and wet”, in The Economist, volume 407, number 8842, page 28
2. Any large flow of a liquid in a single body.
   a river of blood
3. (poker) The last card dealt in a hand.
   He called instantly but was too ashamed to show until the river. 2017, Nathan Schwiethale, Ace High: Mastering Low Stakes Poker Cash Games, page 70
4. (typography) A visually undesirable effect of white space running down a page, caused by spaces between words on consecutive lines happening to coincide.

verb

1. (poker) To improve one’s hand to beat another player on the final card in a poker game.
   Johnny rivered me by drawing that ace of spades.

Etymology 2

rive + -er

noun

1. One who rives or splits.