Where does “rainstorm” come from?
Rainstorm combines English rain with English storm, with rain deriving from Old French resne through Proto-Germanic sturmaz, ultimately tracing to Proto-Indo-European reǵ-.
rainstorm (English): A storm characterized by substantial, heavy...
Definitions
- A storm characterized by substantial, heavy...
Ancestry of “rainstorm”, step by step
rainstorm traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.
via English storm
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | storm | Any disturbed state of the atmosphere, especially... |
| 2 | Middle English | storm | A storm; an instance of intense wind and... |
| 3 | Old English | storm | storm |
| 4 | Proto-West Germanic | *sturm | storm |
| 5 | Proto-Germanic | sturmaz | storm |
| 6 | Proto-Indo-European | (s)twer- | to rotate, swirl, twirl, move around; to turn... |