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cumulus - 6 dictionary results

cu⋅mu⋅lus

[kyoo-myuh-luhs]
–noun, plural -lus.
1. a heap; pile.
2. a cloud of a class characterized by dense individual elements in the form of puffs, mounds, or towers, with flat bases and tops that often resemble cauliflower: as such clouds develop vertically, they form cumulonimbus.

Origin:
1650–60; < NL (L: mass, pile)
cu·mu·lus   (kyōōm'yə-ləs)   
n.   pl. cu·mu·li (-lī')
  1. A dense, white, fluffy, flat-based cloud with a multiple rounded top and a well-defined outline, usually formed by the ascent of thermally unstable air masses.
  2. A pile, mound, or heap.

[Latin, heap; see keuə- in Indo-European roots.]

Cumulus

Cu"mu*lus\ (k?"m?-l?s), n.; pl. Cumuli (-l?). [L., a heap. See Cumber.] (Meteor.) One of the four principal forms of clouds. SeeCloud.

cumulus 
1659, "a heap," from L. cumulus "heap," from PIE *ku-m-olo-, suffixed shortened form of base *keue- "to swell" (cf. Skt. svayati "swells up, is strong," Gk. kyein "to swell," Lith. šaunas "firm, solid, fit, capable"). Meteorological use for "rounded mass of clouds" first attested 1803.

Main Entry: cu·mu·lus
Pronunciation: 'kyü-my&-l&s
Function: noun
Inflected Form: plural cu·mu·li /-"lI,-"lE/
: the projecting mass of granulosa cells that bears the developing ovum in a graafian follicle called also discus proligerus
cumulus   (kym'yə-ləs)  Pronunciation Key 
Plural cumuli (kym'yə-lī')
A dense, white, fluffy cloud with a flat base, a multiple rounded top, and a well-defined outline. The bases of cumulus clouds form primarily in altitudes below 2,000 m (6,560 ft), but their tops can reach much higher. Cumulus clouds are generally associated with fair weather but can also bring rain when they expand to higher levels. The clouds' edges are well-defined when they are composed of water droplets and fuzzy when made up of ice crystals. See illustration at cloud.
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