stream

Old English strēam derived from Proto-Germanic *straumaz, related to Old Norse straumr and Greek rheuma (flow). A stream was moving water, distinguished from a pond (still) or a river (large). The word captured continuous, unidirectional movement. To stream meant to flow: banners streaming in the wind, tears streaming down a face.

Broadcasting borrowed the stream metaphor in the 1920s. Radio signals 'streamed' through the air. The analogy was conscious: like water, radio signals traveled from a single source outward, continuous and uninterrupted. Television inherited the metaphor.

Computing adopted streaming for data transfer in the 1990s. Before streaming, digital audio and video required complete download before playback. RealAudio, launched in 1995, pioneered streaming audio over the internet — delivering data in a continuous flow so it could be played before the whole file arrived. The hydraulic metaphor was perfect: you did not need to fill the entire reservoir before the water could flow from the tap.

Netflix began streaming in 2007. Spotify launched in 2008. By 2023, streaming services had largely replaced physical media. The economy of streaming — the shift from owning to flowing — has transformed music, film, and television. Old English strēam, the moving water of the fenlands, now names the dominant mode of cultural distribution.