From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 [gcide]:
Tidal wave \Tid"al wave\, n.
1. an unusually high wave from the sea, sometimes reaching
far inland and causing great destruction, and usually
caused by some event, such as an earthquake, far from the
shore. In Japan, such a wave is called a {tsunami}.
[PJC]
2. [fig.] an unusually large quantity of items or events
requiring attention and causing strain on the capacity to
handle them; as, a tidal wave of orders for a new product;
a tidal wave of tourists.
[PJC]
From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 [gcide]:
Tidal \Tid"al\, a.
Of or pertaining to tides; caused by tides; having tides;
periodically rising and falling, or following and ebbing; as,
tidal waters.
[1913 Webster]
The tidal wave of deeper souls
Into our inmost being rolls,
And lifts us unawares
Out of all meaner cares. --Longfellow.
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{Tidal air} (Physiol.), the air which passes in and out of
the lungs in ordinary breathing. It varies from twenty to
thirty cubic inches.
{Tidal basin}, a dock that is filled at the rising of the
tide.
{Tidal wave}.
(a) See {Tide wave}, under {Tide}. Cf. 4th {Bore}.
(b) A vast, swift wave caused by an earthquake or some
extraordinary combination of natural causes. It rises far
above high-water mark and is often very destructive upon
low-lying coasts.
[1913 Webster]
From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 [gcide]:
Tide \Tide\, n. [AS. t[imac]d time; akin to OS. & OFries.
t[imac]d, D. tijd, G. zeit, OHG. z[imac]t, Icel. t[imac]?,
Sw. & Dan. tid, and probably to Skr. aditi unlimited,
endless, where a- is a negative prefix. [root]58. Cf.
{Tidings}, {Tidy}, {Till}, prep., {Time}.]
1. Time; period; season. [Obsoles.] "This lusty summer's
tide." --Chaucer.
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And rest their weary limbs a tide. --Spenser.
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Which, at the appointed tide,
Each one did make his bride. --Spenser.
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At the tide of Christ his birth. --Fuller.
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2. The alternate rising and falling of the waters of the
ocean, and of bays, rivers, etc., connected therewith. The
tide ebbs and flows twice in each lunar day, or the space
of a little more than twenty-four hours. It is occasioned
by the attraction of the sun and moon (the influence of
the latter being three times that of the former), acting
unequally on the waters in different parts of the earth,
thus disturbing their equilibrium. A high tide upon one
side of the earth is accompanied by a high tide upon the
opposite side. Hence, when the sun and moon are in
conjunction or opposition, as at new moon and full moon,
their action is such as to produce a greater than the
usual tide, called the {spring tide}, as represented in
the cut. When the moon is in the first or third quarter,
the sun's attraction in part counteracts the effect of the
moon's attraction, thus producing under the moon a smaller
tide than usual, called the {neap tide}.
[1913 Webster]
Note: The flow or rising of the water is called flood tide,
and the reflux, ebb tide.
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3. A stream; current; flood; as, a tide of blood. "Let in the
tide of knaves once more; my cook and I'll provide."
--Shak.
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4. Tendency or direction of causes, influences, or events;
course; current.
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There is a tide in the affairs of men,
Which, taken at the flood, leads on to fortune.
--Shak.
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5. Violent confluence. [Obs.] --Bacon.
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6. (Mining) The period of twelve hours.
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{Atmospheric tides}, tidal movements of the atmosphere
similar to those of the ocean, and produced in the same
manner by the attractive forces of the sun and moon.
{Inferior tide}. See under {Inferior}, a.
{To work double tides}. See under {Work}, v. t.
{Tide day}, the interval between the occurrences of two
consecutive maxima of the resultant wave at the same
place. Its length varies as the components of sun and moon
waves approach to, or recede from, one another. A
retardation from this cause is called the lagging of the
tide, while the acceleration of the recurrence of high
water is termed the priming of the tide. See {Lag of the
tide}, under 2d {Lag}.
{Tide dial}, a dial to exhibit the state of the tides at any
time.
{Tide gate}.
(a) An opening through which water may flow freely when
the tide sets in one direction, but which closes
automatically and prevents the water from flowing in
the other direction.
(b) (Naut.) A place where the tide runs with great
velocity, as through a gate.
{Tide gauge}, a gauge for showing the height of the tide;
especially, a contrivance for registering the state of the
tide continuously at every instant of time. --Brande & C.
{Tide lock}, a lock situated between an inclosed basin, or a
canal, and the tide water of a harbor or river, when they
are on different levels, so that craft can pass either way
at all times of the tide; -- called also {guard lock}.
{Tide mill}. (a) A mill operated by the tidal currents.
(b) A mill for clearing lands from tide water.
{Tide rip}, a body of water made rough by the conflict of
opposing tides or currents.
{Tide table}, a table giving the time of the rise and fall of
the tide at any place.
{Tide water}, water affected by the flow of the tide; hence,
broadly, the seaboard.
{Tide wave}, or {Tidal wave}, the swell of water as the tide
moves. That of the ocean is called primitive; that of bays
or channels derivative. See also {tidal wave} in the
vocabulary. --Whewell.
{Tide wheel}, a water wheel so constructed as to be moved by
the ebb or flow of the tide.
[1913 Webster]
From WordNet (r) 3.0 (2006) [wn]:
tidal wave
n 1: an overwhelming manifestation of some emotion or
phenomenon; "a tidal wave of nausea"; "the flood of letters
hit him with the force of a tidal wave"; "a tidal wave of
crime"
2: an unusual (and often destructive) rise of water along the
seashore caused by a storm or a combination of wind and high
tide
3: a wave resulting from the periodic flow of the tides that is
caused by the gravitational attraction of the moon and sun
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