Rains

Part of speech: noun, verb

Pronunciation: /ɹeɪnz/

Definitions

1. The natural phenomenon where condensed water vapor falls to the Earth as droplets is known
2. An event where moisture in the atmosphere precipitates and descends as water drops occurs regularly
3. The occurrence in which water is discharged from clouds in the form of droplets may take place frequently

Etymology: The noun "rains" is a plural with its own meaning: the rainy season, or monsoon. Kipling used it in 1889 in "The Education of Otis Yeere", describing how the soil "bred frogs in the Rains". The plural sense is the older and more specific one, and "rains" as a verb is simply the third-person singular of the verb "rain". The base word has a long Germanic pedigree. It descends from Old English "reġn", which is cognate with Dutch "regen", German "Regen", and Swedish "regn", and it appears in Gothic as "rign". Its ultimate origin is uncertain. A possible link to a Proto-Indo-European root meaning "to flow" has been suggested, though the consonants do not match cleanly. The verb "to rain" comes from Old English "reġnian", so the verb and noun families grew up together in the language, with the plural noun gaining its seasonal sense from the sheer frequency of rain in certain months.

Synonyms: precipitation, showers, downpour, drizzle, deluge

Antonyms: drought, dryness, aridity, desiccation, sunshine