What is "stream cable"

Stream \Stream\ (str[=e]m), n. [AS. stre['a]m; akin to OFries. str[=a]m, OS. str[=o]m, D. stroom, G. strom, OHG. stroum, str[=u]m, Dan. & Sw. str["o]m, Icel. straumr, Ir. sroth, Lith. srove, Russ. struia, Gr. "ry`sis a flowing, "rei^n to flow, Skr. sru. [root]174. Cf. Catarrh, Diarrhea, Rheum, Rhythm.]

1. A current of water or other fluid; a liquid flowing continuously in a line or course, either on the earth, as a river, brook, etc., or from a vessel, reservoir, or fountain; specifically, any course of running water; as, many streams are blended in the Mississippi; gas and steam came from the earth in streams; a stream of molten lead from a furnace; a stream of lava from a volcano.

2. A beam or ray of light. ``Sun streams.''
   --Chaucer.

3. Anything issuing or moving with continued succession of parts; as, a stream of words; a stream of sand. ``The stream of beneficence.''
   --Atterbury. ``The stream of emigration.''
   --Macaulay.

4. A continued current or course; as, a stream of weather. ``The very stream of his life.''
   --Shak.

5. Current; drift; tendency; series of tending or moving causes; as, the stream of opinions or manners.

   Gulf stream. See under Gulf.

   Stream anchor, Stream cable. (Naut.) See under Anchor, and Cable.

   Stream ice, blocks of ice floating in a mass together in some definite direction.

   Stream tin, particles or masses of tin ore found in alluvial ground; -- so called because a stream of water is the principal agent used in separating the ore from the sand and gravel.

   Stream works (Cornish Mining), a place where an alluvial deposit of tin ore is worked.
   --Ure.

   To float with the stream, figuratively, to drift with the current of opinion, custom, etc., so as not to oppose or check it.

   Syn: Current; flow; rush; tide; course.

   Usage: Stream, Current. These words are often properly interchangeable; but stream is the broader word, denoting a prevailing onward course. The stream of the Mississippi rolls steadily on to the Gulf of Mexico, but there are reflex currents in it which run for a while in a contrary direction.

Cable \Ca"ble\ (k[=a]"b'l), n. [F. c[^a]ble, LL. capulum, caplum, a rope, fr. L. capere to take; cf. D., Dan., & G. kabel, from the French. See Capable.]

1. A large, strong rope or chain, of considerable length, used to retain a vessel at anchor, and for other purposes. It is made of hemp, of steel wire, or of iron links.

2. A rope of steel wire, or copper wire, usually covered with some protecting or insulating substance; as, the cable of a suspension bridge; a telegraphic cable.

3. (Arch) A molding, shaft of a column, or any other member of convex, rounded section, made to resemble the spiral twist of a rope; -- called also cable molding. Bower cable, the cable belonging to the bower anchor. Cable road, a railway on which the cars are moved by a continuously running endless rope operated by a stationary motor. Cable's length, the length of a ship's cable. Cables in the merchant service vary in length from 100 to 140 fathoms or more; but as a maritime measure, a cable's length is either 120 fathoms (720 feet), or about 100 fathoms (600 feet, an approximation to one tenth of a nautical mile). Cable tier.

   1. That part of a vessel where the cables are stowed.

   2. A coil of a cable.

      Sheet cable, the cable belonging to the sheet anchor.

      Stream cable, a hawser or rope, smaller than the bower cables, to moor a ship in a place sheltered from wind and heavy seas.

      Submarine cable. See Telegraph.

      To pay out the cable, To veer out the cable, to slacken it, that it may run out of the ship; to let more cable run out of the hawse hole.

      To serve the cable, to bind it round with ropes, canvas, etc., to prevent its being, worn or galled in the hawse, et.

      To slip the cable, to let go the end on board and let it all run out and go overboard, as when there is not time to weigh anchor. Hence, in sailor's use, to die.

n. A hawser or rope, smaller than the bower cables, to moor a ship in a place sheltered from wind and heavy seas.