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Added 8 October 2026

rain

/ɹeɪn/ noun

Categories: NatureDescribing WordsEveryday Words

In Latin: pluvia, imber Wiktionary

noun Definition from WordNet 3.1, Princeton University. Pronunciation from Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org. More about rain at Wordnik → Where our words come from →

  1. Water falling in drops from vapor condensed in the atmosphere.
  2. Drops of fresh water that fall as precipitation from clouds.
  3. Anything happening rapidly or in quick successive.
    a rain of bullets

verb

  1. Precipitate as rain.
    If it rains much more, we can expect some flooding

Origin

Inherited from Middle English reyn, rein, from Old English reġn, from Proto-West Germanic *regn, from Proto-Germanic *regną, of uncertain origin. Possibly from pre-Germanic *Hréǵ-no-, from Proto-Indo-European *Hreǵ- (“to flow”), although the consonant reflexes don't match.

From Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org (CC BY-SA)

Related Words: rainwaterrainfallpeltingflurryshowerdownpourrainyrainstormmistdelugehail

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