Rain Definition
Contents
English
Rain.Etymology
Middle English reyn, rein, from Old English reġn, from Proto-Germanic *regnaz (cf. West Frisian rein, German Regen, Danish regn), from Proto-Indo-European *reg̑ 'to flow' (cf. Latin rigō (“wet, soak”), Lithuanian rõki 'drizzling rain', Albanian rrjedh 'to flow, drip').
Pronunciation
- enPR: rān, IPA: /reɪn/, SAMPA: /reIn/
-
Audio (US) (file) -
Audio (UK) (file) - Rhymes: -eɪn
- Homophones: reign, rein
Noun
rain (usually uncountable; plural rains)
- Condensed water falling from a cloud.
- We've been having a lot of rain lately.
- The rains came late that year.
- (figuratively) Any matter moving or falling, usually through air, and especially if liquid or otherwise figuratively identifiable with raindrops.
- (figuratively) An instance of particles or larger pieces of matter moving or falling through air.
- A rain of mortar fire fell on our trenches.
Usage notes
Synonyms
- See also Wikisaurus:hydrometeor
Derived terms
Terms derived from the noun rain
|
Verb
to rain (third-person singular simple present rains, present participle raining, simple past and past participle rained)
- (impersonal) To have rain fall from the sky.
- It will rain today.
- (intransitive) To fall in large quantities.
- Bombs rained from the sky.
- (transitive) To issue (something) in large quantities.
- The boxer rained punches on his opponent's head.
Derived terms
Terms derived from the verb to rainTranslations
of rain: to fall from the sky
|
|
|
- The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables, removing any numbers. Numbers do not necessarily match those in definitions. See instructions at Help:How to check translations.
See also
Anagrams
Japanese
Noun
rain (hiragana らいん)
- ライン: line
|
Rain is liquid water in the form of droplets that have condensed from atmospheric water vapor and then precipitated—that is, become heavy enough to fall under gravity. Rain is a major component of the water cycle and is responsible for depositing most of the fresh water on the planet. It provides suitable conditions for many types of ecosystem, as well as water for hydroelectric power plants and crop irrigation.