It is very likely to get confused between these two words. Floe and flow are homonyms. This mean flow and flow sound alike and are also spelt somewhat similar, making them difficult to tell apart if spoken. This to understand the meaning of these words, we have to understand their application in respective sentences.
Floe vs Flow
The main difference between flow and flow is that floe refers to a geographical, physical object while flow refers to a verb that can be used in many contexts to describe the free-flowing movement of objects, wind, water, people, and any other substance that may or may not be liquid.
When someone mentions the word floe, they’re most certainly thinking of an ice floe. An ‘ice floe’ is a large sheet of ice that floats in the ocean. When you’re walking on one, the ice might move around in the water, making it unstable. If you fall in, you could get stuck beneath it, which is deadly. It is usually detached from an iceberg.
Flow means being in a steady, continuous motion. However, flow can be used in various contexts to mean different things. For example, The flow of the water is steady. In a still sentence, it refers to the movement of a stream of water. In other contexts, it can also serve as a noun or verb in a sentence.
Comparison Table Between Floe and Flow
| Parameters of Comparison | Floe | Flow |
| Meaning | Floe means a thin sheet of floating ice. | Flow refers to the movement of a liquid. |
| Parameters | To be considered a floe, the price of ice has to be a minimum of 20m in length. | The flow of water or an object cannot be measured as distance but can be measured with speed. |
| Movement | Floe does not mean or signify any movement. | Flow is written to describe movement. |
| Global Warming | Floe ice can be caused due to global warming. | Flow as a word is not affected by global warming. |
| Part of Speech | Floe is a noun. | Flow can be used both as a noun or verb. |
What is Floe?
A floe is a large area of floating ice. When it freezes, it is said to have “frozen in”. It is also called an ice floe. Ice floes are usually referred to as icebergs when they break off from a glacier or ice shelf. Ice floes can be a kilometre wide and hundreds of kilometres long. Often, they’re also called icebergs, but not all icebergs are floes.
Also, a floe can resemble a pancake. In essence, it is a floating piece of ice that is a bit smaller than a berg. Also known as glacier ice, floes are large pieces of floating ice that are part of a glacier. As climate change develops, they continue to melt and crumble over time. When the floes crash into other ice, they produce waves known as “bergy bits.” The collision can also cause bergy bits to break off the ice sheet where the floes originate. This leads to more melting.
Thus floe can be said to be a hazard for hulls of ships as they may sometimes come together to form drifting ice sheets that damage incoming ships and lead to leakage in their hulls. Ice floe breakage is a major consequence of global warming, and polar animals are highly affected by it.
What is Flow?
Flow can have different meanings. For example, “Flow” is a state of mind where you’re completely fixated on your goal and are working to accomplish it. It’s when you’re in the zone! When you’re in flow, you can accomplish so much because you feel like you can do anything. If you’re starting a business, you need to be in flow so you can accomplish your goals. If you’re feeling unmotivated, find your flow. If you’re stressed, find your flow. If you’re feeling unfulfilled, find your flow!
In the case of website designs, it relates to website design. Flow is the path your visitor takes as they perform different tasks related to their goals on your site. Flow is an important part of site design as it helps improve the visitor experience and makes your site more user-friendly.
Flow is the experience of being wholly absorbed in an activity for its own sake. You know that feeling when you’re so engaged in an activity that you lose track of time and place? That’s called flow.
Thus any sentence in which a steady movement of material continuously Or rhythmically is mentioned can be described with the word flow. It can be used with various meanings in different sentences and hence is a multifunctional word.
Main Differences Between Floe and Flow
- Floe is a noun used to describe a particular object, while flow can be used as a noun to describe the method of flowing of a substance, and as a verb, it is used to describe the action of movement of any object or liquid.
- Floe refers to an object. It is physical. Flow is used to describe another object.
- Floe is a newer word only been in use since 1817, while flow is an old English word with varied origins.
- Floe can be very dangerous to ships while the flow of water is necessary for the movement of ships.
- Floe refers to an ice slab. Whole flow refers to moving, not frozen water.
Conclusion
Homophones can be easily misunderstood if not already known. It is impossible to understand them by pronouncing them as they sound the same. However, when used in a sentence, they impart different meanings. There are many such homophobes like red and read, new and knew and so on.
It is seen that they differ only by one or two alphabets and thus can only be understood when written down. It is thus necessary to know the difference between floe and flow not only to tell them apart but to also understand their use in different sentences as flow in itself can be used in a variety of sentences.
References
- https://books.google.com/books?hl=en&lr=&id=0WjgUtz-qs4C&oi=fnd&pg=PR5&dq=flow+meaning&ots=ynSHXTMuAt&sig=krt6U-Q-kfrPB9_BP9p8RTjRQH8
- http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&profile=ehost&scope=site&authtype=crawler&jrnl=21568960&AN=95705448&h=sjqncaFIuh2eEV35xNyQNvYy%2BnYjEW1DvGhSJDzVYCySGLNo0PqLsBa%2B2Wq7x1A2LlTZ97cVPK2d7oIt1MTHUw%3D%3D&crl=c
- https://agupubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1029/JC089iC04p06477