Rain

Part of speech: noun, verb

Pronunciation: /ɹeɪn/

Definitions

1. Water droplets that fall from clouds in the sky as precipitation, helping to water plants and fill bodies of water
2. Moisture that descends from the atmosphere in the form of drops, nourishing the earth and affecting weather conditions
3. Falling liquid water particles originating from clouds, essential for ecosystems and influencing climate patterns

Etymology: Rain is one of the few common English nouns whose core vocabulary is shared almost unchanged across the Germanic family. Old English "regn" matches Dutch "regen", German "Regen", and Swedish "regn", and it traces back through Proto-Germanic "regną" to a form whose ultimate origin scholars cannot pin down. A proposed link to a Proto-Indo-European root meaning "to flow" is possible, but the consonants do not line up neatly, so it remains a guess rather than a settled connection. The verb is a parallel formation built on the same stem. Old English "regnian" came from a Proto-Germanic verb "regnōną", derived from the noun, so English speakers were effectively turning the falling water into an action from the start. The same pattern shows up across the daughter languages, with German "regnen" and Icelandic "rigna" both meaning "to rain."

Synonyms: precipitation, shower, drizzle, downpour, deluge

Antonyms: drought, dryness