Etymologically
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thunderstorm

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Pronunciation

  • /ˈθʌn.dɚˌstɔɹm/[1]
  • UK: /ˈθʌn.dəˌstɔːm/[1]

Etymology

It is a compound from English thunder + storm,[2][3][4][5] also written with a hyphen.[2] The first part is from Middle English thonder, from Old English þunor,[2][3] and the second is from storm.[2]

Earliest recorded meaning

A storm with thunder and lightning: Etymonline dates the word to the 1560s.[2] Merriam-Webster gives 1652 and Dictionary.com 1645–55,[6][5] and the OED's first quotation is from Bishop Joseph Hall's Invisible World, written before 1656.[3]

Semantic evolution

The meaning has stayed the same: a storm with thunder and lightning, usually with heavy rain.[3][7] Later dictionaries add that it is produced by rising air currents and electrically charged cumulonimbus clouds, and may bring hail.[4][7] The milder thunder-shower is recorded from the 1690s.[2] The simile like a dying duck in a thunderstorm describes someone looking forlorn.[4]

Timeline

  • 1560s – a storm accompanied by thunder and lightning.[2] The OED's first quotation is from before 1656, and Merriam-Webster dates the word to 1652.[3][6]

Meanings

Noun

  1. A storm with thunder and lightning, caused by strong rising air currents and usually bringing heavy rain or hail: The picnic was cut short by a sudden thunderstorm.[7][6][3]

References

  1. ^ a b Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f g Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  3. ^ a b c d e f Oxford English Dictionary Online (accessed March 2026), Oxford: Oxford University Press
  4. ^ a b c Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press
  5. ^ a b Dictionary.com Unabridged (2016), based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, New York: Random House
  6. ^ a b c Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
  7. ^ a b c Collins English Dictionary (2023), Glasgow: HarperCollins