Etymology

upstream

U1P3S1T1R1E1A1M3

Today it means: In a direction against the flow of a current or stream of fluid (typically water); upriver. Full definition →

English stream ← Middle English strem ← Old English strēam
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The story

  1. Englishup-
  2. Proto-Indo-European*ser-?
  3. Proto-Indo-European*srew-
  4. Proto-Indo-European*srow-mo-s
  5. Proto-Germanic*straumaz
  6. Proto-West Germanic*straum
  7. Old Englishstrēam
  8. Middle Englishstrem
  9. Englishstream
  10. English todayupstream

From up- + stream.

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.