rainmaking

Etymology

From rain + making.

rainmaking means the attempted artificial production of rain, either by use of magic or by seeding clouds. Lexicurio rates it Sui generis — a strength score of 88 out of 100.

Why this word is great

RAINMAKING — [Noun] The practice of attempting to artificially induce precipitation, historically through ritual and later through pseudo-scientific intervention like cloud seeding; by metaphoric extension, the act of generating extraordinary revenue or pivotal clientele for an organization. From the English words 'rain' (water falling in drops from clouds) + 'making' (the act of forming or producing). The compound 'rainmaker' (one who makes rain) is first attested in the mid-18th century, with 'rainmaking' formed from it. Unlike hydrometeorology, which coolly observes the water cycle, or business development, which methodically plots growth, rainmaking is an act of fraught alchemy, a promise to conjure bounty from barrenness. It is the rhythmic dance on sun-baked earth, the silver iodide scattered into indifferent clouds, the singular partner whose whispered name opens vaults—the eternal, human gamble on bending a resistant world to our will.

noun

The attempted artificial production of rain, either by use of magic or by seeding clouds.“There are endless varieties of rain-making practised by witch-doctors[.]”
Hiring someone who creates business opportunities or revenue.“His firm's goal was to fill their gender quota—and simultaneously do some rainmaking by hiring the daughters of CEOs.”