a visible collection of particles of water or ice suspended in the air, usually at an elevation above the earth's surface.
2.
any similar mass, esp. of smoke or dust.
3.
a dim or obscure area in something otherwise clear or transparent.
4.
a patch or spot differing in color from the surrounding surface.
5.
anything that obscures or darkens something, or causes gloom, trouble, suspicion, disgrace, etc.
6.
a great number of insects, birds, etc., flying together: a cloud of locusts obscuring the sun.
–verb (used with object)
7.
to overspread or cover with, or as with, a cloud or clouds: The smoke from the fire clouded the sun from view.
8.
to overshadow; obscure; darken: The hardships of war cloud his childhood memories.
9.
to make gloomy.
10.
(of distress, anxiety, etc.) to reveal itself in (a part of one's face): Worry clouded his brow.
11.
to make obscure or indistinct; confuse: Don't cloud the issue with unnecessary details.
12.
to place under suspicion, disgrace, etc.
13.
to variegate with patches of another color.
–verb (used without object)
14.
to grow cloudy; become clouded.
15.
(of a part of one's face) to reveal one's distress, anxiety, etc.: His brow clouded with anger.
—Idioms
16.
in the clouds,
a.
in a condition of absent-mindedness; lost in reverie.
b.
impractical: Their schemes are usually up in the clouds.
17.
on a cloud, Informal. exceedingly happy; in high spirits: On the night of the prom the seniors were on a cloud.
18.
under a cloud, in disgrace; under suspicion: After going bankrupt he left town under a cloud.
[Origin: bef. 900; ME; OE clūd rock, hill; prob. akin to clod]
—Related forms
cloudlike, adjective
—Synonyms 1. vapor. 6. swarm, horde, multitude, throng, host, crowd, army. 16.Cloud,fog,haze,mist differ somewhat in their figurative uses. Cloud connotes esp. daydreaming: His mind is in the clouds. Fog and haze connote esp. bewilderment or confusion: to go around in a fog (haze). Mist has an emotional connotation and suggests tears: a mist in one's eyes. 11. muddle, distort.
O.E. clud "mass of rock," from P.Gmc. *kludas, metaphoric extension 13c. based on similarity of cumulus clouds and rock masses. O.E. word for "cloud" was weolcan.Cloudy is O.E. cludig (in the rock sense), in the water vapor sense, c.1300. Cloudburst (1817, Amer.Eng.) parallels Ger. Wolkenbruch. The imaginary city Cloud Cuckoo Land, built in air, is from Aristophanes' Nephelokokkygia in "The Birds" (414 B.C.E.). Cloud nine is 1950s, Amer.Eng., of uncertain origin or significance. There was a similar association of cloud seven, but some connect the phrase with the 1896 International Cloud-Atlas, long the basic source for cloud shapes, in which, of the ten cloud types, cloud No. 9, cumulonimbus, was the biggest, puffiest, most comfortable-looking.
any collection of particles (e.g., smoke or dust) or gases that is visible
2.
a visible mass of water or ice particles suspended at a considerable altitude
3.
out of touch with reality; "his head was in the clouds"
4.
a cause of worry or gloom or trouble; "the only cloud on the horizon was the possibility of dissent by the French"
5.
suspicion affecting your reputation; "after that mistake he was under a cloud"
6.
a group of many things in the air or on the ground; "a swarm of insects obscured the light"; "clouds of blossoms"; "it discharged a cloud of spores" [syn: swarm]
verb
1.
make overcast or cloudy; "Fall weather often overcasts our beaches" [syn: overcast] [ant: brighten]
2.
make less visible or unclear; "The stars are obscured by the clouds"; "the big elm tree obscures our view of the valley" [syn: obscure]
3.
billow up in the form of a cloud; "The smoke clouded above the houses"
4.
make gloomy or depressed; "Their faces were clouded with sadness"
5.
place under suspicion or cast doubt upon; "sully someone's reputation" [syn: defile]
6.
make less clear; "the stroke clouded memories of her youth"
7.
colour with streaks or blotches of different shades [syn: mottle]
8.
make milky or dull; "The chemical clouded the liquid to which it was added"
A visible body of very fine water droplets or ice particles suspended in the atmosphere at altitudes ranging up to several miles above sea level. Clouds are formed when air that contains water vapor cools below the dew point.
A distinguishable mass of particles or gas, such as the collection of gases and dust in a nebula.
Cloud County, KS (county, FIPS 29) Location: 39.48284 N, 97.65591 W Population (1990): 11023 (5198 housing units) Area: 1853.6 sq km (land), 7.4 sq km (water)
Cloud Lake, FL (town, FIPS 13050) Location: 26.67470 N, 80.07359 W Population (1990): 121 (63 housing units) Area: 0.2 sq km (land), 0.0 sq km (water)
White Cloud, KS (city, FIPS 77850) Location: 39.97420 N, 95.29724 W Population (1990): 255 (127 housing units) Area: 1.9 sq km (land), 0.0 sq km (water) Zip code(s): 66094
White Cloud, MI (city, FIPS 86680) Location: 43.55292 N, 85.77265 W Population (1990): 1147 (478 housing units) Area: 5.0 sq km (land), 0.2 sq km (water) Zip code(s): 49349
Saint Cloud, WI Zip code(s): 53079
Red Cloud, NE (city, FIPS 40920) Location: 40.08610 N, 98.52232 W Population (1990): 1204 (638 housing units) Area: 2.6 sq km (land), 0.0 sq km (water) Zip code(s): 68970
Saint Cloud, MN Zip code(s): 56301, 56303, 56304
Saint Cloud, FL Zip code(s): 34769, 34771, 34772, 34773
St. Cloud, MN (city, FIPS 56896) Location: 45.55395 N, 94.17036 W Population (1990): 48812 (18828 housing units) Area: 37.6 sq km (land), 1.2 sq km (water)
St. Cloud, MO (village, FIPS 64172) Location: 38.17252 N, 91.21256 W Population (1990): 59 (27 housing units) Area: 2.8 sq km (land), 0.0 sq km (water)
St. Cloud, WI (village, FIPS 70500) Location: 43.82261 N, 88.16730 W Population (1990): 494 (190 housing units) Area: 2.4 sq km (land), 0.0 sq km (water)
St. Cloud, FL (city, FIPS 62625) Location: 28.24179 N, 81.28981 W Population (1990): 12453 (5996 housing units) Area: 19.5 sq km (land), 0.0 sq km (water)
Cir"rus\, n.; pl. Cirri. [L., lock, curl, ringlet.] [Also written cirrhus.]1. (Bot.) A tendril or clasper. 2. (Zo["o]l.) (a) A soft tactile appendage of the mantle of many Mollusca, and of the parapodia of Annelida. Those near the head of annelids are Tentacular cirri; those of the last segment are caudal cirri. (b) The jointed, leglike organs of Cirripedia. See Annelida, and Polych[ae]ta. Note: In some of the inferior animals the cirri aid in locomotion; in others they are used in feeding; in the Annelida they are mostly organs of touch. Some cirri are branchial in function. 3. (Zo["o]l.) The external male organ of trematodes and some other worms, and of certain Mollusca. 4. (Meteor.) See under Cloud.
Cloud\ (kloud), n. [Prob. fr. AS. cl[=u]d a rock or hillock, the application arising from the frequent resemblance of clouds to rocks or hillocks in the sky or air.]1. A collection of visible vapor, or watery particles, suspended in the upper atmosphere. I do set my bow in the cloud. --Gen. ix. 13. Note: A classification of clouds according to their chief forms was first proposed by the meteorologist Howard, and this is still substantially employed. The following varieties and subvarieties are recognized: (a) Cirrus. This is the most elevated of all the forms of clouds; is thin, long-drawn, sometimes looking like carded wool or hair, sometimes like a brush or room, sometimes in curl-like or fleecelike patches. It is the cat's-tail of the sailor, and the mare's-tail of the landsman. (b) Cumulus. This form appears in large masses of a hemispherical form, or nearly so, above, but flat below, one often piled above another, forming great clouds, common in the summer, and presenting the appearance of gigantic mountains crowned with snow. It often affords rain and thunder gusts. (c) Stratus. This form appears in layers or bands extending horizontally. (d) Nimbus. This form is characterized by its uniform gray tint and ragged edges; it covers the sky in seasons of continued rain, as in easterly storms, and is the proper rain cloud. The name is sometimes used to denote a raining cumulus, or cumulostratus. (e) Cirro-cumulus. This form consists, like the cirrus, of thin, broken, fleecelice clouds, but the parts are more or less rounded and regulary grouped. It is popularly called mackerel sky. (f) Cirro-stratus. In this form the patches of cirrus coalesce in long strata, between cirrus and stratus. (g) Cumulo-stratus. A form between cumulus and stratus, often assuming at the horizon a black or bluish tint. -- Fog, cloud, motionless, or nearly so, lying near or in contact with the earth's surface. -- Storm scud, cloud lying quite low, without form, and driven rapidly with the wind. 2. A mass or volume of smoke, or flying dust, resembling vapor. "A thick cloud of incense." --Ezek. viii. 11. 3. A dark vein or spot on a lighter material, as in marble; hence, a blemish or defect; as, a cloud upon one's reputation; a cloud on a title. 4. That which has a dark, lowering, or threatening aspect; that which temporarily overshadows, obscures, or depresses; as, a cloud of sorrow; a cloud of war; a cloud upon the intellect. 5. A great crowd or multitude; a vast collection. "So great a cloud of witnesses." --Heb. xii. 1. 6. A large, loosely-knitted scarf, worn by women about the head. Cloud on a (or the) title (Law), a defect of title, usually superficial and capable of removal by release, decision in equity, or legislation. To be under a cloud, to be under suspicion or in disgrace; to be in disfavor. In the clouds, in the realm of facy and imagination; beyond reason; visionary.
Cloud\, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Clouded; p. pr. & vb. n. Clouding.]1. To overspread or hide with a cloud or clouds; as, the sky is clouded. 2. To darken or obscure, as if by hiding or enveloping with a cloud; hence, to render gloomy or sullen. One day too late, I fear me, noble lord, Hath clouded all thy happy days on earth. --Shak. Be not disheartened, then, nor cloud those looks. --Milton. Nothing clouds men's minds and impairs their honesty like prejudice. --M. Arnold. 3. To blacken; to sully; to stain; to tarnish; to damage; -- esp. used of reputation or character. I would not be a stander-by to hear My sovereign mistress clouded so, without My present vengeance taken. --Shak. 4. To mark with, or darken in, veins or sports; to variegate with colors; as, to cloud yarn. And the nice conduct of a clouded cane. --Pope.
Fog\ n. [Dan. sneefog snow falling thick, drift of snow, driving snow, cf. Icel. fok spray, snowdrift, fj[=u]k snowstorm, fj[=u]ka to drift.]1. Watery vapor condensed in the lower part of the atmosphere and disturbing its transparency. It differs from cloud only in being near the ground, and from mist in not approaching so nearly to fine rain. See Cloud. 2. A state of mental confusion. Fog alarm, Fog bell, Fog horn, etc., a bell, horn, whistle or other contrivance that sounds an alarm, often automatically, near places of danger where visible signals would be hidden in thick weather. Fog bank, a mass of fog resting upon the sea, and resembling distant land. Fog ring, a bank of fog arranged in a circular form, -- often seen on the coast of Newfoundland.
Mack`er*el\, n. [OF. maquerel, F. maquereau (LL. macarellus), prob. for maclereau, fr. L. macula a spot, in allusion to the markings on the fish. See Mail armor.] (Zo["o]l.) Any species of the genus Scomber, and of several related genera. They are finely formed and very active oceanic fishes. Most of them are highly prized for food. Note: The common mackerel (Scomber scombrus), which inhabits both sides of the North Atlantic, is one of the most important food fishes. It is mottled with green and blue. The Spanish mackerel (Scomberomorus maculatus), of the American coast, is covered with bright yellow circular spots. Bull mackerel, Chub mackerel. (Zo["o]l.) See under Chub. Frigate mackerel. See under Frigate. Horse mackerel . See under Horse. Mackerel bird (Zo["o]l.), the wryneck; -- so called because it arrives in England at the time when mackerel are in season. Mackerel cock (Zo["o]l.), the Manx shearwater; -- so called because it precedes the appearance of the mackerel on the east coast of Ireland. Mackerel guide. (Zo["o]l.) See Garfish (a) . Mackerel gull (Zo["o]l.) any one of several species of gull which feed upon or follow mackerel, as the kittiwake. Mackerel midge (Zo["o]l.), a very small oceanic gadoid fish of the North Atlantic. It is about an inch and a half long and has four barbels on the upper jaw. It is now considered the young of the genus Onos, or Motella. Mackerel plow, an instrument for creasing the sides of lean mackerel to improve their appearance. --Knight. Mackerel shark (Zo["o]l.), the porbeagle. Mackerel sky, or Mackerel-back sky, a sky flecked with small white clouds; a cirro-cumulus. See Cloud. Mackerel sky and mare's-tails Make tall ships carry low sails. --Old Rhyme.
Mare's"-tail`\, n. 1. A long streaky cloud, spreading out like a horse's tail, and believed to indicate rain; a cirrus cloud. See Cloud. Mackerel sky and mare's-tails Make tall ships carry low sails. --Old Rhyme. 2. (Bot.) An aquatic plant of the genus Hippuris (H. vulgaris), having narrow leaves in whorls.
Nim"bus\, n.; pl. L. Nimbi, E. Nimbuses. [L., a rain storm, a rain cloud, the cloudshaped which enveloped the gods when they appeared on earth.]1. (Fine Arts) A circle, or disk, or any indication of radiant light around the heads of divinities, saints, and sovereigns, upon medals, pictures, etc.; a halo. See Aureola, and Glory, n., 5. Note: "The nimbus is of pagan origin." "As an atribute of power, the nimbus is often seen attached to the heads of evil spirits." --Fairholl. 2. (Meteor.) A rain cloud; one of the four principal varieties of clouds. See Cloud.
Scud\, n. 1. The act of scudding; a driving along; a rushing with precipitation. 2. Loose, vapory clouds driven swiftly by the wind. Borne on the scud of the sea. --Longfellow. The scud was flying fast above us, throwing a veil over the moon. --Sir S. Baker. 3. A slight, sudden shower. [Prov. Eng.] --Wright. 4. (Zo["o]l.) A small flight of larks, or other birds, less than a flock. [Prov. Eng.] 5. (Zo["o]l.) Any swimming amphipod crustacean. Storm scud. See the Note under Cloud.
Storm\, n. [AS. storm; akin to D. storm, G. sturm, Icel. stormr; and perhaps to Gr. ? assault, onset, Skr. s? to flow, to hasten, or perhaps to L. sternere to strew, prostrate (cf. Stratum). [root]166.]1. A violent disturbance of the atmosphere, attended by wind, rain, snow, hail, or thunder and lightning; hence, often, a heavy fall of rain, snow, or hail, whether accompanied with wind or not. We hear this fearful tempest sing, Yet seek no shelter to avoid the storm. --Shak. 2. A violent agitation of human society; a civil, political, or domestic commotion; sedition, insurrection, or war; violent outbreak; clamor; tumult. I will stir up in England some black storm. --Shak. Her sister Began to scold and raise up such a storm. --Shak. 3. A heavy shower or fall, any adverse outburst of tumultuous force; violence. A brave man struggling in the storms of fate. --Pope. 4. (Mil.) A violent assault on a fortified place; a furious attempt of troops to enter and take a fortified place by scaling the walls, forcing the gates, or the like. Note: Storm is often used in the formation of self-explained compounds; as, storm-presaging, stormproof, storm-tossed, and the like. Magnetic storm. See under Magnetic. Storm-and-stress period [a translation of G. sturm und drang periode], a designation given to the literary agitation and revolutionary development in Germany under the lead of Goethe and Schiller in the latter part of the 18th century. Storm center (Meteorol.), the center of the area covered by a storm, especially by a storm of large extent. Storm door (Arch.), an extra outside door to prevent the entrance of wind, cold, rain, etc.; -- usually removed in summer. Storm path (Meteorol.), the course over which a storm, or storm center, travels. Storm petrel. (Zo["o]l.) See Stormy petrel, under Petrel. Storm sail (Naut.), any one of a number of strong, heavy sails that are bent and set in stormy weather. Storm scud. See the Note under Cloud. Syn: Tempest; violence; agitation; calamity. Usage: Storm, Tempest. Storm is violent agitation, a commotion of the elements by wind, etc., but not necessarily implying the fall of anything from the clouds. Hence, to call a mere fall or rain without wind a storm is a departure from the true sense of the word. A tempest is a sudden and violent storm, such as those common on the coast of Italy, where the term originated, and is usually attended by a heavy rain, with lightning and thunder. Storms beat, and rolls the main; O! beat those storms, and roll the seas, in vain. --Pope. What at first was called a gust, the same Hath now a storm's, anon a tempest's name. --Donne.
Stra"tus\, n. [L. stratus a spreading out, scattering, from sternere, stratum, to spread.] (Meteor.) A form of clouds in which they are arranged in a horizontal band or layer. See Cloud.
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