cirrocumulus
/ˌsɪɹə(ʊ)ˈkjuːmjʊləs/
cirrocumulus means A principal high-level cloud type appearing as a thin, white patch of cloud without shadows, composed of very small droplets in the form of grains or ripples. The elements may be merged or separate, and more or less regularly arranged; they subtend an angle of less than 1° when observed at an angle of more than 30° above the horizon. Holes or rifts often occur in a sheet of cirrocumulus.
cirrocumulus is pronounced /ˌsɪɹə(ʊ)ˈkjuːmjʊləs/.
Why “cirrocumulus” is a great word
A high-altitude cloud appearing as a thin, white sheet composed of very small, grainy or rippled elements, often arranged in a regular pattern. From Latin cirrus (“curl, tuft, wisp”) + cumulus (“heap, pile”), coined circa 1803 by the British chemist and amateur meteorologist Luke Howard. Unlike cirrus, which drifts in wispy, filamentous strands, or altocumulus, whose darker, rounded masses loom at mid-level, cirrocumulus is the delicate etching of a frosted pane—the sky’s finely-woven linen, a rippled sandbar seen from a great height, the faint impression of fish scales on paper. It is pattern for its own ephemeral sake, order sketched so high it seems almost to have escaped the world’s gravity.
Etymology
From cirro- + cumulus, coined by the British chemist and amateur meteorologist Luke Howard (1772–1864): see the 1803 quotation.
noun
- A principal high-level cloud type appearing as a thin, white patch of cloud without shadows, composed of very small droplets in the form of grains or ripples. The elements may be merged or separate, and more or less regularly arranged; they subtend an angle of less than 1° when observed at an angle of more than 30° above the horizon. Holes or rifts often occur in a sheet of cirrocumulus.
Words closest in meaning
By meaning, not spelling — each word's AI semantic fingerprint, nearest first.
- cirrostratus 77% match — A principal high-level cloud type appearing as a whitish veil, usually fibrous but sometimes smooth, which may totally cover the sky and which often produces halo phenomena. vs cirrocumulus →
- altocumulus 68% match — A fleecy cloud formation consisting of large whitish or greyish globular cloudlets with shaded portions, often grouped in flocks or rows. (Abbreviated Ac.) vs cirrocumulus →
- cirrocumular 66% match — Relating to cirrocumuli vs cirrocumulus →
- cumulocirrus 63% match — A hybrid cloud type featuring characteristics of both cumulus and cirrus clouds. vs cirrocumulus →
- altostratus 63% match — A principal medium-level cloud type in the form of a gray or bluish (never white) sheet or layer of striated, fibrous, or uniform appearance. vs cirrocumulus →
- cirronebula 63% match — A thin, amorphous cirrus cloud vs cirrocumulus →
- cirrovelum 61% match — a continuous covering of cirrostratus cloud vs cirrocumulus →
- castellanus 59% match — A cloud species which shows vertical formations giving a crenellated appearance, associated with cirrus, cirrocumulus, altocumulus, and stratocumulus genera. vs cirrocumulus →