drizzle

/dˈɹɪzəl/DRIH-zuhl

/dˈɹɪzəl/DRIH-zuhl

Meaningto drip

Common meaning: rain lightly

drizzleto dripSkeat, Concise Etymological Dictionary (1911), p. 153 · scan

Journey through time

Old Englishdrēosan‘to drip’source B&T
Middle Englishmeaning shiftsto drip → falldresen‘fall’source
Englishmeaning shiftsfall → rain lightlydrizzle‘rain lightly’ · today

Sources & notes

Meaning: “Meaning” is the sense that emerges from the word’s roots; “Common meaning” is today’s everyday sense. Both written by us.

Pronunciation

UK IPA: converted from the US form by rule (unchecked). Respelling: generated.
No UK recording; the speaker uses your device’s en-GB voice.
US IPA: CMUdict (BSD-2), converted to IPA by rule. Respelling: generated.
No US recording; the speaker uses your device’s en-US voice.

Origin: Built on Old English drēosan ‘to drip’.

Roots

drēosan Old English “to drip”

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