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rainmaker

1 9.9

A person who performs ceremonies to bring rain for the community

noun
/ˈreɪnˌmeɪkər/

Archaic

: sacerdote de la lluvia

Locals gathered around the rainmaker as he prepared to conduct the sacred ceremony to bring much-needed rain.

Examples

So he went to talk to the rainmaker and asked in a straightforward Western way, "What did you do to make it rain?"

Academic text (1993)
It took a while for the delegation to travel to wherever the rainmaker was, and a while to bring the rainmaker back.

Academic text (1993)
After considerable time had passed, the rainmaker came.

Academic text (1993)
It took a while for the delegation to travel to wherever the rainmaker was, and a while to bring the rainmaker back.

Academic text (1993)
The Rainmaker's camp was visible in the light from a single propane lantern.

Fiction book (1998)
The village relied on the rainmaker to perform rituals that would summon rain during the dry season.
In times of drought, the people often sought out a rainmaker for help with their crops.

Synonyms

cloud seeder

vsrainmaker

Specialized

7.6

A person who adds tiny particles to clouds to make rain

uses rituals and ceremonies to request rain rather than scientific dispersal

seeder

vsrainmaker

Specialized

9.7

A person who releases substances into clouds to cause rain

relies on ritual action and spiritual practice not technical dispersion

Surface Forms

rainmaker singular

rainmakers plural

Morphology

rainmaker = rain + maker (transparent) = rain + make + er

The historical sense is literally 'one who makes or invokes rain', directly derived from 'rain' + agentive 'maker'.

Etymology

The word rainmaker is made of rain and maker, and was used in North America for a medicine person who tried to 'make rain' by singing or doing ceremonies. So a historical rainmaker was someone the community turned to in droughts to try to bring water.