cas·cade / kasˈkād/ • n. 1. a small waterfall, typically one of several that fall in stages down a steep rocky slope. ∎  a mass of something that falls or hangs in copious or luxuriant quantities: a cascade of pink bougainvillea. ∎  a large number or amount of something occurring or arriving in rapid succession: a cascade of antiwar literature.2. a process whereby something, typically information or knowledge, is successively passed on: [as adj.] the greater the number of people who are well briefed, the wider the cascade effect. ∎  a succession of devices or stages in a process, each of which triggers or initiates the next.• v. 1. [intr.] (of water) pour downward rapidly and in large quantities: water was cascading down the stairs. ∎  fall or hang in copious or luxuriant quantities: blonde hair cascaded down her back.2. [tr.] arrange (a number of devices or objects) in a series or sequence.

cascade waterfall. XVII. — F. — It. cascata, f. cascare fall :- Rom. *cāsicare, f. L. cāsus fall; see CASE 1, -ADE.
Hence as vb. XVIII.

Cascade

something suggestive of a fall of water. See also cataract, spray.

Examples: cascade of fireworks; of hair; of ice, 1860; of jewels; of lace, 1882; of molecules, 1878; of rockets; of stones, 1687; of volcanic ash, 1869.

cascade A configuration in which the output of one electronic device drives the input of another.