rainfall English · revision 39456

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=compound|attested=1765, R. Jones, New Treatise on Artificial Fireworks}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * /ˈɹeɪnfɔːl/^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is a compound [[af|en|rain|fall]], of the nouns.^(OED 2026)^(SOED 2002)^(Etymonline)^(Dictionary.com 2016) The OED compares similar compounds in other Germanic languages: [[nl|regenval]] (late 19th century), [[da|regnfald]] and [[sv|regnfall]].^(OED 2026)

+

+ ==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.^(OED 2026)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ The ordinary sense, falling rain or the falling of rain, is recorded from 1817, the date Merriam-Webster also gives.^(OED 2026)^(MWU 2024) 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;^(OED 2026) Etymonline has this sense by 1850.^(OED 2026)^(Etymonline) As a count noun, a fall or shower of rain, it dates from 1855 (Etymonline: by 1858).^(OED 2026)^(Etymonline) The Shorter Oxford dates both current senses to the mid 19th century.^(SOED 2002)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * 1765 – a firework that makes a shower of sparks (obsolete).^(OED 2026)^(HTOED)

+ * 1817 – falling rain, rainwater.^(OED 2026)^(MWU 2024)

+ * 1834 – the amount of rain falling in a period, in meteorology.^(OED 2026)

+ * 1850 – Etymonline's first date for the amount of rain.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1855 – a fall or shower of rain.^(OED 2026)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Noun===

+ # A fall or [[shower]] of [[rain]].^(AHD 2024)^(Collins 2023)

+ # (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.''^(AHD 2024)^(Collins 2023)^(SOED 2002)

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[rain]]

+ * [[fall]]

+ * [[snowfall]]

+ * [[downpour]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}