cirrostratus cloud
- noun
- /ˌsɪroʊˈstrætəs klaʊd/
- Specialized
:
nube cirrostrato
- When a cirrostratus cloud covers the sky, it's often a sign that rain or snow may arrive within the next day.
Examples
-
Pilots reported encountering a vast layer of cirrostratus cloud at 25,000 feet during their descent.
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A thin cirrostratus cloud stretched across the afternoon sky, creating a faint halo around the sun.
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A cirrostratus cloud can create a beautiful halo effect around the sun.
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The sky was covered with cirrostratus clouds yesterday.
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The sky was covered with a thin layer of cirrostratus cloud, creating a beautiful halo around the sun.
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As we looked up, we noticed the cirrostratus cloud stretching across the sky, making everything appear hazy.
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While hiking, we saw a high-altitude cirrostratus cloud that hinted at changing weather conditions.
Synonyms
A thin high layer of cloud across the sky that can make a faint ring of light around the sun
How Thick
- Specialized
1
8.0
- Specialized
1
5.9
- Specialized
- Specialized
- Specialized
2
7.0
Surface Forms
Morphology
This is a straightforward type-of noun phrase: 'cirrostratus' names a specific high, uniform cloud layer and 'cloud' is the superordinate category, so the meaning is simply 'a cloud of the cirrostratus type.' Although 'cirrostratus' is specialized and Latin-derived, if a learner knows that constituent meaning, the compound is compositional and immediately predictable cross-linguistically.
Etymology
Cirrostratus cloud may come from old words that mean 'curl' (cirro) and 'layer' (stratus). Imagine thin, hair-like clouds spread out as a soft sheet high in the sky that can make a faint 'halo' around the sun or moon, so the name fits this thin, high cloud layer.