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Glite Dictionary
cirrostratus

cirrostratus

9.3
A thin high layer of cloud across the sky that can make a faint ring of light around the sun
  • noun
  • /ˌsɪrəˈstrætəs/
  • Specialized
translation icon : cirrostrato
  • The thin, hazy cirrostratus clouds indicated that rain was likely within the next few days.
  • cirrostratus clouds
  • layer of cirrostratus
  • high cirrostratus

Examples

  • Farther above, at about forty thousand feet, was a layer of cirrostratus that would bring rain in a couple of days.

    Fiction book (1992)

  • He had even been learning his clouds: the anvil shape of the nimbus, the difference in altitude and attitude between altocumulus and cirrostratus.

    Fiction book (1995)

  • The forecast predicted that a layer of cirrostratus would cover the sky, bringing overcast conditions by evening.

  • When the cirrostratus clouds spread across the sky, it became clear that a change in the weather was approaching.

Synonyms

cirrostratus cloud
vscirrostratus
  • Specialized
7.2

A thin, high cloud layer that often covers the sky and sometimes makes a halo around the sun or moon

is the shorter technical form that omits the extra noun for brevity

Compounds

cirrostratus cloud
  • Specialized
7.2

A thin, high cloud layer that often covers the sky and sometimes makes a halo around the sun or moon

Surface Forms

cirrostratus singular
cirrostrati plural

Morphology

cirrostratus = stratus (semi-transparent) = cirro + stratus

The form is clear for those familiar with meteorological combining forms, but it is specialized technical vocabulary not obvious to average learners.

Etymology

Cirrostratus comes from the parts cirrus 'curl', like a lock of hair, and stratus 'layer', so it names the thin, high clouds that form a hair-like layer across the sky.