Nimbose

Part of speech: adjective

Definitions

1. Marked by an overcast sky filled with thick, dark clouds that often foretell rain or storm conditions
2. Relating to or resembling a sky that is heavily clouded, often suggesting impending precipitation or a stormy atmosphere
3. Characterized by a sky densely obscured by thick clouds signaling rain or storm ; bearing qualities similar to dark, heavy clouds that suggest bad weather ahead

Etymology: "Nimbose" comes from Latin "nimbosus," meaning "cloudy" or "rainy," which was built on "nimbus," the Latin word for a dark rain cloud. The Latin noun itself was used by writers such as Virgil for a storm cloud or a burst of heavy rain, and it carried the sense of a violent downpour as much as the cloud that produced it. The English adjective is formed by adding the suffix "-ose," which comes through Latin "-osus" and means "full of" or "having the qualities of." So the word literally means "full of nimbus," and in English it describes skies heavy with cloud that threaten rain or storms. English speakers borrowed "nimbus" as a scientific term for a rain-bearing cloud, and "nimbose" followed the same pattern as other "-ose" adjectives drawn from Latin.