drizzle

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Aunt Sukey called a drizzle-drazzle day.

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Definitions (14)

Toggle American Heritage definitions American Heritage Dictionary (4)

  1. intransitive verb To rain gently in fine, mistlike drops.
  2. transitive verb To let fall in fine drops or particles: drizzled melted butter over the asparagus.
  3. transitive verb To moisten with fine drops: drizzled the asparagus with melted butter.

Toggle Century definitions Century Dictionary (4)

Toggle GNU Webster definitions GNU Webster's 1913 (3)

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Examples (50)

  • The weather was a chilly drizzle, and he was glad to be spared the discomfort of going about in it with hand-bag, overcoat, and umbrella, and felt a certain justification in concluding that, after two years, a few hours more or less under the circumstances would make but little difference. —  David Harum A Story of American Life
  • The air was a depressing compound which defied analysis; but was apparently composed of equal parts of snow, drizzle, and stinging sleet; the wind caught it in sudden whirls, and dashed it around corners and into the eyes and the coat collars of wayfarers with gusty malevolence The streets were comparatively deserted, only such people being abroad as could not help themselves, and these plodded along with bent heads, and silent curses on the night. —  Princess
  • There was a light drizzle, and the forest of Compičgne had to be flown over at about 200 feet. —  Aviation in Peace and War
  • But Luck was already standing on the steps and hoisting his umbrella against the drizzle, and he did not give any sign that he heard CHAPTER EIGHT THERE'S GOT TO BE A LINE DRAWED SOMEWHERES By seven o'clock in the morning,--since that was his ultimatum,--Luck was standing in his bare feet and pajamas, acrimoniously arguing with Martinson over the telephone. —  The Phantom Herd
  • During the night there came a change; it rained--first a drizzle, then a heavy downpour, and at five-thirty a roar of hail on the tent. —  Tales of lonely trails
 

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Etymologies (3)

Toggle American Heritage etymologies American Heritage Dictionary (1)

  1. Perhaps from Middle English drisning, fall of dew, from Old English -drysnian, in gedrysnian, to pass away, vanish; see dhreu- in Indo-European roots.

Toggle Century etymologies Century Dictionary (2)

  1. Early modern English drizle, drisel; prob. from Middle English *dreselen, an unrecorded freq. of dresen (past participle ydroren; rare), fall, from Anglo-Saxon dreósan (preterit dreás, plural druron, past participle droren), fall (as rain, snow, dew, fruit, the slain, etc.), = Old Saxon driosan = Norwegian drjosa = Gothic (Moesogothic) driusan, fall: an orig. Teutonic verb, found otherwise only in the causative, Old High German trōran, Middle High German trōren, cause to drop, let fall in drops, pour, shed, throw away (= Icelandic dreyra, intransitive ooze, bleed), and in other secondary forms: Anglo-Saxon drūsian, sink, become sluggish (see drowse); English dial. drose, droze, freq. drosle, drip or gutter, as a candle; Low German drusen, also drusken, fall with a noise, make a noise, = Middle Dutch druyschen, make a noise; Low German dröschen, dreschen = German dial. dräuschen, dreuschen, formerly dreussen, rain heavily, shower; Norwegian drysja, fall, fall and scatter, as grain, rush with a noise, transitive scatter, spread, = Danish drysse, fall or drop in small particles, transitive sprinkle; and in the derivatives dross and dreary, and their kindred: see dross and dreary.
  2. from drizzle, v.
 

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/ˈdrɪzl/
by American Heritage

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