A flood is when a large amount of water covers land that is usually dry, often after heavy rain or melting snow. It can damage homes, roads, and crops.
“Flood” comes from Old English “flōd,” meaning “a flowing of water, deluge,” from a Proto-Germanic root linked to flowing. It is related to the word “flow.”
We talk about a “flood of emails” or a “flood of tears” because the image of too much water overflowing fits many kinds of overload. The word always carries a sense of too-much-ness breaking normal limits.
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