cascade

—cascader, n.

/kas kayd"/, n., v., cascaded, cascading.

n.

1. a waterfall descending over a steep, rocky surface.

2. a series of shallow or steplike waterfalls, either natural or artificial.

3. anything that resembles a waterfall, esp. in seeming to flow or fall in abundance: a cascade of roses covering the wall.

4. (in a drain or sewer) a chain of steps for dissipating the momentum of falling water in a steep place in order to maintain a steady rate of flow.

5. an arrangement of a lightweight fabric in folds falling one over another in random or zigzag fashion.

6. a type of firework resembling a waterfall in effect.

7. Chem. a series of vessels, from each of which a fluid successively overflows to the next, thus presenting a large absorbing surface, as to a gas.

8. Elect. an arrangement of component devices, as electrolytic cells, each of which feeds into the next in succession.

9. Biochem. a series of reactions catalyzed by enzymes that are activated sequentially by successive products of the reactions, resulting in an amplification of the initial response.

v.i.

10. to fall in or like a cascade.

v.t.

11. to cause to fall in a cascade.

12. Elect. to arrange (components) in a cascade.

[1635-45; < F < It cascata, equiv. to casc(are) to fall ( < VL *casicare, equiv. to cas(us) fallen (ptp. of cadere) + -ica- formative v. suffix + -re inf. ending) + -ata -ADE¹]

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▪ waterfall

      waterfall, especially a series of small falls, consisting of water descending over rocks or boulders. It may be natural or it may be artificial. The cascade has often been used as a feature of formal gardens.

      A garden cascade properly employs a natural supply of water and a sloping site; but the site is usually adapted artificially to take advantage of the stream, and sometimes a cascade that strives to appear natural is dependent on a head of water artificially created by pumps.

      Natural cascades can be the chief reason for a garden's existence in a particular place, as at Tivoli in central Italy, where the fall of the Aniene River was made into the garden of the Villa d'Este. Cascades can be used in architectural gardens in the form of water stairways, as at the Palazzo Farnese at Caprarola, Italy.

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