ebb
Definitions
General English
- noun the regular process of the level of the sea water at a coast becoming lower.
- verb to become lower
- verb to become weaker or less gradually
General Science
- noun the movement of the sea or water affected by tides away from a shore as the tide falls.
- verb to move away from a shore, as the tide falls
Origin & History of “ebb”
Water that is ebbing is literally going ‘off’ or ‘away’. The word comes from west Germanic *abjon, a noun formed from *ab, ancestor of modern English of, off, which denoted removal or departure.
