Where does “rainfall” come from?

Rainfall is a English compound of rain and fall, with fall deriving from Proto-Germanic fallaną and ultimately Proto-Indo-European wel-, meaning to turn or roll.

rainfall (English): the amount of rain that falls on a single...

Definitions

  1. the amount of rain that falls on a single...

Ancestry of “rainfall”, step by step

rainfall traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.

via English rain

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1EnglishrainCondensed water falling from a cloud; Any matter...
2Middle Englishreynrain water falling from a cloud
3Old Englishreġnrain
4Proto-West Germanicregnrain
5Proto-Germanicregnąrain
6Proto-Indo-EuropeanHreǵ-to flow

via English fall

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Englishfall"To be moved downwards."; "To move downwards.";...
2Middle Englishfall—
3Old EnglishfeallAlternative form of fiell
4Proto-Germanicfallą—
5Proto-Indo-European(s)pōl-to fall

Words derived from “rainfall”

Every word from Proto-Indo-European Hreǵ- →
rainfall — Etymology, Origin & Word History | Etymology Explorer