turbulence
(ˈtɜːbjʊləns)
Also 7 -ance.
[ad. L. turbulentia, f. turbulentus turbulent: see -ence: cf. F. turbulance, -ence (14th c. in Hatz.-Darm.), perh. the immediate source.]
a. The state or quality of being turbulent; violent commotion, agitation, or disturbance; disorderly or tumultuous character or conduct; with a and pl., an instance of this.
| 1598 Florio, Torbolenza, turbulence, disturbance. 1606 Shakes. Tr. & Cr. v. iii. 11, I haue dreampt Of bloudy turbulence. 1639 in Kirkcudbr. War-Comm. Min. Bk. etc. (1855) 231 Whatsomever tumilts and turbulances that shall happen to fall out. 1777 Robertson Hist. Amer. II. v. 4 The turbulence of youth..gradually subsided. 1845 M. Pattison Ess. (1889) I. 18 It required all the personal influence of the king to check the turbulence of his irritated followers. 1853 J. H. Newman Hist. Sk. (1873) III. i. i. 5 A temporary retreat from the turbulence of ecclesiastical politics. |
b. Of natural conditions: Stormy or tempestuous state or action; violence.
| 1726–46 Thomson Winter 56 Congregated clouds, And all the vapoury turbulence of heaven. 1748 Anson's Voy. i. viii. 82 The turbulence of the weather. 1820 Scoresby Acc. Arctic Reg. I. 301 Capable of resisting the turbulence of the ocean. 1862 Goulburn Pers. Relig. iii. vii. 205 Think of Him as calm..amidst the most furious agitations and turbulences of nature. |
c. Of fluid flow (see turbulent a. 2 c).
| 1907 F. W. Lanchester Aerodynamics ii. 53 When a certain critical velocity is exceeded the continuity is broken and the phenomenon of turbulence manifests itself. 1922 Glazebrook Dict. Appl. Physics I. 299/2 The important part played by turbulence in reducing the time of explosion in actual engines, and thus rendering high revolution speeds practicable. 1928 N. Shaw Man. Meteorol. II. vi. 284 The variation of wind with height is now treated as the effect of turbulence or eddy-motion in the moving air. 1935 Discovery Oct. 390/2 This is remedied either by small fans or, automatically, by injecting some cold air from the dehumidifier with the heated air, causing a form of turbulence in the enclosure. 1980 R. P. Benedict Fund. Pipe Flow iv. 141 A stability theory has been given that explains the origin of turbulence in terms of arbitrary small disturbances which initiate instabilities in the laminar boundary layer. |