DictionaryRoot: hagol

Old English

hagol

hail

1 / 1

A few irregular small white ice balls fall onto a wet leaf and ground, one foreground hailstone clearly translucent with an icy edge; tiny storm-rain cue only, no snowflakes or ordinary rocks.

noun

hailstone

HAYL-stohn/ˈheɪlstəʊn/

A small ball or lump of ice that falls during a storm.

Etymology

hailOld Englishhail

+stoneOld Englishstone

Hail combined with stone pictures a falling ice pellet as a little rock. The compound singles out one solid piece of the frozen rain.

Related word entries

hailstone