Etymologically
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rainfall

This is the current revision of this entry, as edited by bogdan on 22 October 2026 at 21:15. This address is a permanent link to this version.
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Pronunciation

  • /ˈɹeɪnfɔːl/[1]

Etymology

It is a compound from English rain + fall, of the nouns.[2][3][4][5] The OED compares similar compounds in other Germanic languages: Dutch regenval (late 19th century), Danish regnfald and Swedish regnfall.[2]

Earliest recorded meaning

A type of firework that gives off a shower of sparks: 1765, in R. Jones's New Treatise on Artificial Fireworks; this sense is rare and obsolete.[2]

Semantic evolution

The ordinary sense, falling rain or the falling of rain, is recorded from 1817, the date Merriam-Webster also gives.[2][6] In meteorology, from 1834, it is the amount of rain that falls at a place in a given period, measured as a depth in inches or millimetres;[2] Etymonline has this sense by 1850.[2][4] As a count noun, a fall or shower of rain, it dates from 1855 (Etymonline: by 1858).[2][4] The Shorter Oxford dates both current senses to the mid 19th century.[3]

Timeline

  • 1765 – a firework that makes a shower of sparks (obsolete).[2][7]
  • 1817 – falling rain, rainwater.[2][6]
  • 1834 – the amount of rain falling in a period, in meteorology.[2]
  • 1850 – Etymonline's first date for the amount of rain.[4]
  • 1855 – a fall or shower of rain.[2]

Modern meaning

Noun

  1. A fall or shower of rain.
  2. (meteorology) The amount of precipitation that falls in a given place and time, usually measured in millimetres or inches: The region's yearly rainfall is low.

References

  1. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Oxford English Dictionary Online (accessed March 2026), Oxford: Oxford University Press
  3. ^ a b Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press
  4. ^ a b c d Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  5. ^ Dictionary.com Unabridged (2016), based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, New York: Random House
  6. ^ a b Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
  7. ^ Kay, Christian; Roberts, Jane; Samuels, Michael; Wotherspoon, Irené, eds. (2009), Historical Thesaurus of the Oxford English Dictionary, Oxford: Oxford University Press; online edition (2024)