rain 
II. trans. To pour or shower down, like vain 
from the clouds ; pouror send down abundantly. 
Behold, I will rain bread from heaven for you. 
Ex. xvi. 4. 
Does he rain gold, anil precious promises, 
Into thy lap'/ Fletcher, Wife for a Month, i. 1. 
Why, it rains princes; though some people are disap- 
pointed of the arrival of the Pretender. 
Walpnle, Letters, II. 24. 
To rain cats and dogs. See ca(i . 
rain 2 (ran), n. [Origin obscure.] 1. A ridge. 
.Halliicell. 2. A furrow. [Prov. Eng. in both 
senses.] 
They reaped the corne that grew in the mine to serve 
that turne, as the corne In the ridge was not readie. 
Wynne, History of the Owedir Family, p. 87. (Encyc. DM.) 
rain 3 t, An obsolete spelling of rein 1 . 
rainball (ran'bal), . One of the festoons of 
the mammato-eumulus, or pocky cloud: so 
called because considered to be a sign of rain. 
[Prov. Eng.] 
rainband (ran'baud), . A dark band in the 
solar spectrum, situated on the red side of the 
D line, and caused by the absorption of that 
part of the spectrum by the aqueous vapor of 
the atmosphere. The intensity of the rainband va- 
ries with the amount of vapor in the air, and is thus of 
some importance as an indication of rain. Direct-vision 
spectroscopes of moderate dispersion are best adapted for 
observing it. Pocket instruments of this kind, designed 
for the purpose, are called rainband-spectroscopes. 
At every hour, when there is sufficient light, the inten- 
sity of the rainband is observed and recorded. 
Nature, XXXV. 589. 
rain-bird (rau'berd), u. [< ME. reyue-bryde ; < 
rain 1 + bird 1 .'] A bird supposed to foretell 
rain by its cries or actions, as the rain-crow. 
Many birds become noisy or uneasy before rain, the pop- 
ular belief having thus considerable foundation in fact, 
(a) The green woodpecker, Oecinun viridis. Also rain-fowl, 
rain-pie. [Eng.] (o) The large ground-cuckoo of Jamai- 
ca, Saurothera vetula; also, a related cuckoo, Piaya plu- 
vialis. 
rainbow (ran'bo), . [< ME. reinbowe, reinboge, 
renboge, < AS. regn-boga, renboga (= OFries. 
reinboga = D. regenboog = MLG. regenboge, re- 
gensboge (of. LG. water-boog) = OHG. reganbo- 
go, MHG. regenboge, Gr. regenbogeii, = Icel. regn- 
bogi = Sw. regnbdge = Dan. regiibue), < regu, 
rain, + boga, bow: see rain 1 and bow 3 , .] 1. 
A bow, or an arc of a circle, consisting of the 
prismatic colors, formed by the refraction and 
reflection of rays of light from drops of rain or 
vapor, appearing in the part of the heavens op- 
posite to the sun. When large and strongly illumi- 
nated, the rainbow presents the appearance of two con- 
centric arches, the inner being called the primary and 
the outer the secondary rainbow. Each is formed of the 
colors of the solar spectrum, but the colors are arranged 
in reversed order, the red forming the exterior ring of the 
primary bow and the interior of the secondary. The pri- 
mary bow is formed by rays of the sun that enter the up- 
per pail of falling drops of rain, and undergo two refrac- 
tions and one reflection ; the secondary, by rays that enter 
the under part of rain-drops, and undergo two refractions 
and two reflections. Hence, the colors of the secondary 
bow are fainter than those of the primary. The rainbow 
is regarded as a symbol of divine beneficence toward man, 
from its being made the token of the covenant that the 
earth should never again be destroyed by a flood (Gen. ix. 
13-17). Smaller bows, sometimes circular and very bril- 
liant, are often seen through masses of mist or spray, as 
from a waterfall or from waves about a ship. (See fog-bow.) 
The moon sometimes forms a bow or arch of light, more 
faint than that formed by the sun, and called a lunar 
rainbow. 
Thanne ic ofe[r]-te"o hefenes mid wlcne. thanne bith 
atiiwed min rtn boge. betwuxe than folce [vel wlcne]. 
thanne beo ic gemene'ged mines weddes. that ic nelle 
henon forth mancyn. mid watere adrenche. 
Old Eng. Homilies (ed. Morris), 1st ser., xxiv. 225. (Kick.) 
Taunede [showed] him in the wa[l]kene a-buuen 
Rein-bowe. Genesis and Exodus, 1. 637. 
When in Heav'n I see the Rain-borne bent, 
I hold it for a Pledge and Argument. 
Sylvester, tr. of Du Bartas's Weeks, i. 2. 
Intersecting rainbows are not uncommon. They require, 
of course, for their production, two sources of parallel 
rays ; and they are seen when, behind the spectator, there 
is a large sheet of calm water. Tm'i, Light, 165. 
2. In her., the representation of a half-ring di- 
vided into seven concentric narrow rings and 
arched upward, each end resting on a clump of 
clouds. To avoid the difficulty of finding seven different 
tinctures, the number of concentric rings is sometimes di- 
minished to three, usually azure, or, tuid gitles that is, 
blue, gold, and red. 
3. In ornith., a humming-bird of the genus 
Diphlogcna, containing two most brilliantly 
plumaged species, D. iris of Bolivia, and D. Tins- 
perns of Ecuador. 4. The rainbow-fish Rain- 
bowstyle, a method of calico-printing in which the colors 
are blended with one another at the edges. Spurious or 
supernumerary rainbow, a bow always seen in connec- 
tion with a fine rainbow, lying close inside the violet of the 
primary bow, or outside that of the secondary one. Its 
colors are faintrr and less pure, as they proceed from the 
4943 
principal bow, and finally merge in the diffused white light 
of the primary l>ow, and outside the secondary. 
rainbow-agate (ran'bo-ag'at), H. An irides- 
cent variety of agate. 
rainbow-darter (ran'bo-dar'ter), . The sol- 
dier-fish or blue darter, Ptecilicli Hi //.< i-ierulcux, 
of gorgeous and varied colors, about 2^ inches 
long, found in the waters of the Mississippi ba- 
sin ; as a book-name, any species of this genus. 
rainbowed (ran'bod), a. [< rainbow + -erf' 2 .] 
1. Formed by or like a rainbow. 2. Encir- 
cled with a rainbow or halo. Davies. 
See him stand 
Before the altar, like a rainbowed. saint. 
Kingdey, Saint's Tragedy, i. 3. 
rainbow-fish (ran 'bo-fish), n. One of several 
different fishes of bright or varied coloration, 
(o) The blue darter, PoecUichthys aeruleus. [U. 8.] (6) 
A sparoid fish, Scants or Pseudoscarus quadrispinosu*. 
[Bermuda.] 
rainbow-hued, rainbow-tinted (ran'bo-hud, 
-tin"ted), a. Having hues or tints like those 
of a rainbow. 
rainbow-quartz (ran'bo-kwarts), . An iri- 
descent variety of quartz. 
rainbow-trout (ran'bo-trout), n. A variety or 
subspecies of the Californian Salmo gairdneri, 
specifically called >S*. irideits. It is closely related 
rain-water 
means of the pluviometeror rain-gage. The average rain- 
fall of a district includes the snow, if any, reduced to its 
equivalent in water. Rainfall chart, an isohyetal chart. 
SI-L- iHnttyetal. 
rain-fowl (rSn'fonl). H. [< ME. rei/n fmric; 
< ruin 1 + fowl 1 .'] 1. Same as rain-bird (a). 
[Eng.] 2. The Australian Seytlirops norie- 
Rainbow-trout (Salmo iridtus). 
to the brook-trout of Europe, but not to that of the United 
States. It has been quite widely distributed by piscicul- 
turists. In the breeding season its colors are resplendent, 
giving rise to the popular name. 
rainbow-worm (ran'bo-wfcrm), . A species of 
tetter, the herjies iris of Bateman. 
rainbow-wrasse (ran'bp-ras), n. A labroid fish, 
Com Julia, the only British species of that ge- 
nus : so called from its bright and varied colors. 
rain-box (ran'boks), n. A device in a theater 
for producing an imitation of the sound of 
falling rain. 
rain-chamber (ran'cham"ber), n. An attach- 
ment to a furnace, hearth, or smelting-works 
in which the fumes of any metal, as lead, are 
partly or entirely condensed by the aid of water. 
rain-chart (ran'chart), n. A chart or map 
giving information in regard to the fall and 
distribution of rain in any part or all parts of 
the world. Also called rain-map. 
rain-Cloud (ran'kloud), . Any cloud from 
which rain falls: in meteorology called nimbus. 
Two general classes may be distinguished (a) cumulo- 
nimbus, where rain falls from cumulus clouds, generally 
in squalls or showers, and (6) strato-nimbus, where rain 
falls from stratus clouds. The name is sometimes espe- 
cially given, in a more restricted sense, to the ragged, de- 
tached masses of cumulus (called by Poey fracto-cumvlus), 
or to the low, torn fragments of cloud called scud, which 
are characteristic associates of rain-storms. See cut un- 
der cloud. 
rain-crow (ran'kro), . A tree-cuckoo of the 
genus Coceygus, either C. americanus or C. ery- 
throphthalmus : so named from its cries, often 
heard in lowering weather, and supposed to 
predict rain. [Local, U. 8.] 
raindeert, . See reindeer. 
rain-doctor (rau'dok"tor), . Same as rain- 
maker. 
rain-door (ran'dor), . In Japanese houses, 
one of the external sliding doors or panels in 
a veranda which are closed in stormy weather 
and at night. 
raindrop (ran'drop), . [< ME. raindrope (also 
reines drope), < AS. regiidropa (= D. dim. re- 
gendroppel, regendruppel = OHG. regentropho, 
MHG. G. regentropfeii = Sw. regndroppe = Dan. 
regndraabe, raindrop), < regn, rain, + dropa, 
drop: see rain 1 and drop, .] A drop of rain. 
Raindrop glaze, in ceram., a glaze with very slight 
drop-like bosses, used for porcelain. 
rainet, . An obsolete spelling of reign. 
raines 1 t, " pi- An obsolete spelling of reins. 
raines 2 t, [Also raynes, reins; < Remies (see 
def.).] A kind of linen or lawn, manufactured 
at Eeunes in France. 
She should be apparelled beautifully with pure white 
silk, or with most fine raines. 
Bale, Select Works, p. 542. (Davies.) 
rainfall (ran'fal), H. 1. A falling of rain; a 
shower. 2. The precipitation of water from 
clouds; the water, or the amount of water, 
coming down as rain. The rainfall is measured by 
rain-gage (ran'gaj), w. An instrument for i-ol- 
lecting and measuring the amount of rainfall 
at a given place. Many forms have been used; their 
size has been a few square inches or square feet in area, 
and their material has been sheet-metal, porcelain, wood, 
or glass. The form adopted by the I'nited States Signal 
Service consists of three parts (a) a funnel-shaped rr- 
ceiver, having a turned brass rim 8 inches in diameter: 
(b) a collecting tube, made of seamless brass tubing of 2.53 
inches inside diameter, making its area one tenth that of 
the receiving surface; and (c) a galvanized iron overflow- 
cylinder, which in time of snow is used alone as a snow- 
gage. A cedar measuring-stick is used to measure the 
depth of water collected in the gage. By reason of the 
ratio between the area of the collecting tube and that of 
the receiving surface, the depth of rain is one tenth that 
measured on the stick. See cut under pluviometer. 
rain-goose (ran'gos), n. The red-throated diver 
or loon, Vrinator or Cotymbus septentrionalis, 
supposed to foretell rain by its cry. [Local, 
British.] 
rain-houndt (ran'hound), n. A variety of the 
hound. See the quotation. 
Mastiffs are often mentioned in the proceedings at the 
Forest Courts [in England], in company with other breeds 
which it is not easy now to identify, such as the rain- 
hound, which keeps watch by itself in rainy weather. 
The Academy, Feb. 4, 1888, p. 71. 
raininess (ra'ni-nes), it. [< rainy + -ness.] The 
state of being rainy. 
rainless (ran'les), a. [< rain 1 + -less.'] With- 
out rain: as, a rainless region; brainless zone. 
rain-maker (ran'ma"ker), . Among super- 
stitious races, as those of Africa, a sorcerer who 
pretends to have the power of producing a fall 
of rain by incantation or supernatural means. 
Also called rain-doctor. 
The African chief, with his rain-makers and magicians. 
The Century, XL. 303. 
rain-map (ran'map), . Same as rain-chart. 
rainmentt (ran'ment), . An aphetic form of 
arraignment. 
rain-paddock (ran'pad"pk), . The batrachian 
Breviceps gibbosus, of South Africa, which lives 
in holes in the ground and comes out in wet 
weather. 
rain-pie (ran'pl), . Same as rain-bird (a). 
[Eng.] 
rainpOUT (ran'por). . A downpour of rain ; a 
heavy rainfall. [Colloq.] 
The red light of flitting lanterns blotched the steady 
rainpowr. Harper's Mag., LXXVI. 572. 
rain-print (ran'print), n. In geol., the print of 
raindrops in some aqueous rocks, formed when 
they were in a soft state, such as may be seen 
on a muddy or sandy sea-beach after a heavy 
shower. It is possible for the geologist to tell by in- 
spection of the prints from what direction the wind was 
blowing at the time of their formation. 
rain-proof (ran'prof), n. Proof against rain; 
not admitting the entrance of rain or penetra- 
tion by it ; rain-tight ; water-proof in a shower. 
Their old temples, . . . which for long have not been 
rain-proof, crumble down. Carlyle, Sartor Kesartus, ii. 7. 
rain-quail (ran'kwal), w. The quail Cotiirnix 
coromandelicus, of Africa and India, whose mi- 
grations are related in some way to rainy sea- 
sons. 
rain-storm (ran'stonn), . A storm of rain; a 
rain. 
The fells sweep skyward with a fine breadth, freshened 
by strong breezes ; clouds and suushine, ragged rainstorms, 
thunder and lightning, chase across them forever. 
The Atlantic, LXV. 824. 
rain-tight (ran'tit), . 
rain. 
So tight as to exclude 
rain-tree (ran'tre), n . The genisaro or guango, 
Pithecolobiuni Saman. It is said to be so called be- 
cause occasionally in South America, through the agency 
of cicadas which suck its juices, It sheds moisture to such 
an extent ab to wet the ground. Another explanation is 
that its foliage shuts up at night, so that the rain and dew 
are not retained by it. See genisaro. 
rain-wash (ran'wosh), . See wash. 
rain-water (ran'wa/ter), n. [< ME. reyne wa- 
ter, reinwater, < AS. *regnwseter, remcseter (= 
OHG. reganwazar), < regn, ren, rain, + water, 
water: see rain 1 and water.'] Water that has 
fallen from the clouds in rain, and has not sunk 
into the earth. 
No one has a right to build his house so as to cause the 
rain water to fall over his neighbour's land, . . . unless 
he has acquired right by a grant or prescription. 
Banner, Law Diet., II. 419. 
