Waterspout

3 definitions found

From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 [gcide]:

  Waterspout \Wa"ter*spout`\, n.
     A remarkable meteorological phenomenon, of the nature of a
     tornado or whirlwind, usually observed over the sea, but
     sometimes over the land.
     [1913 Webster]
  


     Note: Tall columns, apparently of cloud, and reaching from
           the sea to the clouds, are seen moving along, often
           several at once, sometimes straight and vertical, at
           other times inclined and tortuous, but always in rapid
           rotation. At their bases, the sea is violently agitated
           and heaped up with a leaping or boiling motion, water,
           at least in some cases, being actually carried up in
           considerable quantity, and scattered round from a great
           height, as solid bodies are by tornadoes on land. --Sir
           J. Herschel.
           [1913 Webster]

From WordNet (r) 2.0 [wn]:

  waterspout
       n 1: a tornado passing over water and picking up a column of
            water and mist
       2: a heavy rain [syn: {downpour}, {cloudburst}, {deluge}, {torrent},
           {pelter}, {soaker}]
       3: a channel through which water is discharged (especially one
          used for drainage from the gutters of a roof)

From Moby Thesaurus II by Grady Ward, 1.0 [moby-thes]:

  37 Moby Thesaurus words for "waterspout":
     baguio, beak, brash, burst of rain, cloudburst, cyclone, deluge,
     downfall, downflow, downpour, downspout, drencher, dust devil,
     flood, gargoyle, gushing rain, heavy rain, plash, pour, rainburst,
     rainspout, rainstorm, rotary storm, sand column, sandspout, scud,
     soaker, soaking rain, spate, spout, tornado, torrent of rain,
     twister, typhoon, whirlblast, whirlwind, wind eddy