RIVER  , any considerable stream of

water flowing in a defined channel . The origin and subsequent formation of rivers and the valleys along which they flow are considered under GEOGRAPHY, § Principles of Geography, and GEOLOGY, § viii . The word " river " is an adaptation of the O . Fr. rivere (mod. riviere), which descends through Med . Lat. rivers, Low . Lat. riparia, in the sense of river-bank and river, from ripa, bank . The.Latin for a stream or river is rivus, whence rivulas, a small stream, Eng . " rivulet," which is, therefore, distinct in origin from " river," though probably the sense of rivus influenced the Med . Lat. rivera . The etymology of rivus and ripa is disputed; some scholars refer both to the root ri-, to drop, flow; others take ripe to be from the root seen in Gr . Epeiaew, to tear, English " rive," the sense being a broken cliff or steep bath: .