aflood

English

Etymology

From a- +‎ flood.

Adjective

aflood (comparative more aflood, superlative most aflood)

1. (predicative, literary or poetic) Flooding.
   • a. 1730, Edward Taylor, “The Persecution under Mark Antonine”, in Donald E[lwin] Stanford, editor, A Transcript of Edward Taylor’s Metrical History of Christianity, Ann Arbor, Mich.: University Microfilms International, published 1962, page 21:

     Mark Antonine getting upon his pate / Th’Imperiall Trinket, Royall Laureate / Doth point his sparkling sword in Holy blood / Drawn from the Saints, Phlebotomizd, aflood.

   • 1792 May [1782], David Lowellin, The Admirable Travels of Messieurs Thomas Jenkins and David Lowellin through the Unknown Tracts of Africa; […], London: […] [F]or the Benefit of Robert Barker, page 8:

     […] I ſtepped on-ſhore in the evening, concealing myſelf in a buſh near the water-ſide, whence he took me in as the flat paſſed up along with the tide aflood, on having a quarterly wind.

     The 1st edition (1782) has a flood.

   • 1823, B[enjamin] Mayo, “Of Earth and Water”, in John Wesley, A Survey of the Wisdom of God in the Creation: or A Compendium of Natural Philosophy. […]; with Notes, by B. Mayo., 3rd American edition, volume I, New York, N.Y.: […] N[athan] Bangs and T[homas] Mason, for the Methodist Episcopal Church. […], part the fourth (Of Earth, Water, Fire, Air, and Meteors), footnote, page 453:

     In some long rivers it is high and low water in several places at the same time, and there is not an hour in the day, but it is high water at one place or other. A vessel has been known to sail, and to continue her course with the tide aflood, forty-eight hours together.

   • 1843 July, [Robert Taylor] Conrad, “The Sons of the Wilderness. Reflections beside an Indian Mound.”, in George R[ex] Graham, editor, Graham’s Lady’s and Gentleman’s Magazine, […], volume XXIII, number 1, Philadelphia, Pa.: George R. Graham, […], stanza XX, page 40, column 2:

     Her wealth hath turned, within her crimson’d hand, / To withered leaves; her glory set in blood; / And foreign swords have reaped her guilty land, / Sluicing her veins, and leaving Spain aflood / In her own gore.

   • 1866, Public Health. Eighth Report of the Medical Officer of the Privy Council. […] 1865., London: […] George E[dward] Eyre and William Spottiswoode, […] [f]or Her Majesty’s Stationery Office, page 121:

     Water came in everywhere,—through roof and walls; the floors were aflood.

   • 1881, [Thomas] Mayne Reid, “Por Las Zancas!”, in The Free Lances. A Romance of the Mexican Valley. […], volume I, London: Remington & Co., […], pages 184–185:

     This, the zanca, is more of a stagnant sink than a drainage sewer; since from the city to the outside country there is scarce an inch of fall to carry off the sewage. As a consequence it accumulates in the zancas till they are brimming full, and with a stuff indescribable. Every garbage goes there—all the refuse of household product is shot into them. At periodical intervals they are cleared out, else the city would soon be aflood in its own filth.

   • 1891 April 18, Gilbert Parker, “[Glimpses of Australian Life.] In Time of Flood.”, in Harper’s Weekly: A Journal of Civilization, volume XXXV, number 1791, New York, N.Y.: Harper & Brothers, page 295, column 1:

     The Royal Commissioners, the secretary, two reporters, a photographer, and myself constituted the party, and we seven looked out upon Bourke one Sunday evening as it rose from the scrubby plain, and with apprehensive eye beheld the river Darling, which was aflood, and was debating whether to rise four inches more and flood the streets.

   • 1898 June 2, “South and West. Camps in Both Localities Full of Activity. Gen. Miles, His Family and Staff Get a ‘Right Smart’ Rain at Tampa. […]”, in The Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles, Calif.: The Times Mirror Company, page 3, column 1:

     The great cavalry camps at Port Tampa City are on lowland, and were aflood in less than half an hour—a picture of saturated misery, with the colors, blue, yellow and black, well run together.

   • 1901, Jack London, “The Scorn of Women”, in The God of His Fathers‎^[1], New York: McClure, Phillips & Co., pages 282–283:

     Men are only gregarious vertebrates, domesticated and evolved, and the chances are large that it was because the Greek girl had in her time dealt with wilder masculine beasts of the human sort; for she turned upon the man with hell’s tides aflood in her blazing eyes, much as a bespangled lady upon a lion which has suddenly imbibed the pernicious theory that he is a free agent.

   • 1903, George [Fort] Gibbs, “The Unmasking”, in The Love of Monsieur, New York, N.Y.: Grosset & Dunlap, page 237:

     The cabin was aflood with light when she awoke.

   • 1905 November 5, [Cara Elizabeth Whiton-Stone], “[Today and Yesterday.] Yesterday.”, in Los Angeles Sunday Times: Illustrated Weekly Magazine, Los Angeles, Calif.: [The Times Mirror Company], page 19, column 3:

     So matchless, sun of yesterday, / I caught the rapture of its pace, / And followed until aflood in space, / The apocalypse hid earth away— / So matchless, sun of yesterday.

   • 1908, Charles Sparrow, “Hunting”, in Poems of Memory and Environment, author’s edition, Toronto, Ont.: William Briggs, page 11:

     Good old fox! good old hounds! On a morning like this, / With the sunshine aflood in the vale, / You feel many a day in the bright month of May / Before this one its glory might pale.

   • 1925, Ridgwell Cullum [pseudonym; Sidney Groves Burghard], “The Gateway of Hope”, in The Riddle of Three-Way Creek, Toronto, Ont.: McClelland and Stewart, page 51:

     Food and drink were aflood in this home that was his.

   • 1951, Kate O’Brien, “Childhood”, in Teresa of Avila (Personal Portraits), New York, N.Y.: Sheed & Ward, page 17:

     And Teresa, late, strong flower of that spirit, came into life at an hour when the civilized world – in which Spain, Castilian Spain, played a leading part – was about to submit to a tidal wave of change. The Renaissance was aflood in Europe at her birth, the Reformation was gathering up on a curve of coming power, and the Middle Ages were already adrift along the past, in dark recession.

   • 1953, James K[eir] Baxter, “Jack the Swagger’s Song”, in J[ohn] E[dward] Weir, editor, Collected Poems, Wellington: Oxford University Press in association with Price Milburn, published 1981, →ISBN, page 133:

     And when the squatter hears it / At most he’ll thumb his reins / And say, “Bad Luck!” – and soon the creek / (From an icefield it drains) / Headhigh will soak my shirt and run / Aflood in my dry veins.

   • 1982, Ronnie Dugger, “‘A Sharp, Compelling Cry’”, in The Politician: The Life and Times of Lyndon Johnson: The Drive for Power, from the Frontier to Master of the Senate, New York, N.Y., London: W. W. Norton & Company, →ISBN, page 64:

     The lamps burned all night in the tiny three-room cabin among the lashing pecan and sycamore trees, casting shadows into the rain down the slope toward the river aflood in the storm.

   • 1983, J[ames] P[atrick] Donleavy, chapter 10, in Leila: Further in the Destinies of Darcy Dancer, Gentleman, New York, N.Y.: Delacorte Press/Seymour Lawrence, →ISBN, page 141:

     One stopped. So utterly in one’s tracks. And in the din of other voices all around one’s ears. To see the vast tears aflood in his eyes.

   • 1985, Leland Hickman, “[Two Poems from TIRESIAS] Annotation for That Which Follows”, in Clayton Eshleman, editor, Sulfur: A Literary Tri-Quarterly of the Whole Art, volume 12, Los Angeles, Calif.: The Writers’ Program, UCLA Extension, page 13:

     […] sobbing under obscure care here in / tensive care / here arroyos aflood in downcaster plain in purgative night […]

   • 1988 March, Shannon OCork, chapter 9, in Turning Point, Toronto, Ont.: Worldwide Library, →ISBN, page 149:

     He would keep her in his arms now and sweep her over the marble threshold, and she would not have to walk, alone, up this step and this one and this, toward that woman, crablike, stout, huddling upon a cane, gowned throat to toe in navy, her bosom aflood in pearls.

   • 1993, Let’s Go, Inc., “Ancient Rome”, in Kayla Alpert, David Thorpe, editors, Let’s Go: The Budget Guide to Rome 1993, New York, N.Y.: St. Martin’s Press, →ISBN, page 61:

     Traditional Roman society had been austere and religious in character. Aflood in riches from its many successful conquests, Rome became a festering swamp of greed and corruption.

   • 1994, Janny Wurts, “[Elaira] Healing”, in Ships of Merior (The Wars of Light and Shadow; 2), New York, N.Y.: HarperPrism, published 1995 December, →ISBN, page 488:

     The cottage was a vessel aflood in roused power. Sharp currents nicked over her skin and jagged sparks from the lyranthe’s silver strings.

   • 2002, Richard Bach, chapter 32, in Writer Ferrets: Chasing the Muse (The Ferret Chronicles; 3), New York, N.Y.: Scribner, →ISBN, page 179:

     “Growing up, Danielle,” he said, aflood in memory, “it wasn’t just Bevo! There were dozens Mom made for me! Dandelion and Buttercup were baby giraffes, sisters, yellow-flower pajamas. Did I tell you?”

   • 2007 February 16, Stevan Pearce, quotee, Reports, Audits and Investigations by the Government Accountability Office (GAO) and the Office of Inspector General (OIG) Regarding the Department of the Interior: Oversight Hearing before the Committee on Natural Resources, […] (Serial No. 110-1), Washington, D.C.: U.S. Government Printing Office, page 58:

     The documents at the time were screaming that we are aflood in oil. In fact, the belief was the price was going to go down to $5.

   • 2014, Padma Viswanathan, “[Winter 2004/05] Thursday, December 30”, in The Ever After of Ashwin Rao, Toronto, Ont.: Random House Canada, →ISBN, page 305:

     He was aflood in sentiment, watching the infinite ascension of the women’s backs, curved-straight-old-young-wide-narrow, in bright silks and pastel sweaters: the women.

   • 2014, Jeff Chang, “Color Theory: Race Trouble in the Avant-Garde”, in Who We Be: The Colorization of America, New York, N.Y.: St. Martin’s Press, →ISBN, part 1 (A New Culture, 1963–1979), pages 80–81:

     When the conceptualists emerged in the 1960s in an affluent society awash in material things and a global village aflood in images, they shared a fervent belief that art should be more than just seen.

   • 2015, Broc Rossell, quoting Srikanth Reddy, Festival, Cleveland, Oh.: Cleveland State University Poetry Center, →ISBN, back cover:

     This is a book of defamiliarizations, a recital of phenomenological possibility aflood in its own formal elegance, like a glass of water made prismatic and strange.

   • 2015 September, M. R. O’Connor, “Introduction”, in Resurrection Science: Conservation, De-Extinction and the Precarious Future of Wild Things, New York, N.Y.: St. Martin’s Press, →ISBN, page 2:

     But now they were confined to a little bathysphere suspended in a world aflood in disaster.

   • 2017, John Gallas, “[The Bad Place] Song 27 […]”, in The Little Sublime Comedy, Manchester: Carcanet Press, →ISBN, page 37:

     Mouths aflood in stool and chunder bobbed and went under.

References

• “aflood, adj.”, in OED Online ⁠, Oxford, Oxfordshire: Oxford University Press, launched 2000.