Waterspouts

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A type of weather phenomenon characterized by a rotating column of water and air forming over water bodies, often resembling a tornado
2. A tornado-like vortex that occurs over a body of water, transporting water vapor and creating a narrow, funnel-like cloud
3. A form of intense atmospheric disturbance that can connect water with the sky, exhibiting a distinct spiral motion and sometimes causing localized storms

Etymology: "Waterspouts" is the plural of "waterspout", a compound of "water" and "spout". The sense of "spout" as a jet or outlet, the thing that pours liquid out of a vessel, is the older half of the picture: a spout is what a kettle or gutter has, the narrow channel through which water is forced out. Joined to "water", the compound names a column of water that seems to be spouting upward or downward from the sea or a lake. The meaning is literal, and it describes the physical shape of the phenomenon: a rotating funnel of spray and water between a cloud and the surface below. The word is a transparent description rather than a figurative extension, so the picture it paints is the one it names.

Synonyms: funnel clouds, whirlwinds, tornados, water funnels, vortexes