A sudden rise or overflowing of a river or stream, usually caused by heavy rain or melting snow; a rush of fresh water.
Possibly from fresh (adjective) + -et (diminutive suffix), or from Frisian/Dutch frisket. The word has been in English since at least the 1600s.
Freshets were historically dangerous and created folklore—sudden spring freshets could destroy mills and bridges, making them villainous natural events in early American literature and settlement narratives.
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