Main Entry:

¹cloud

Pronunciation:

\ˈklau̇d\

Function:

noun

Usage:

often attributive

Etymology:

Middle English, rock, cloud, from Old English clūd; perhaps akin to Greek gloutos buttock

Date:

14th century

1: a visible mass of particles of condensed vapor (as water or ice) suspended in the atmosphere of a planet (as the earth) or moon2: something resembling or suggesting a cloud: as a: a light filmy, puffy, or billowy mass seeming to float in the air <a cloud of blond hair> <a ship under a cloud of sail> b (1): a usually visible mass of minute particles suspended in the air or a gas (2): an aggregation of usually obscuring matter especially in interstellar space (3): an aggregate of charged particles (as electrons) c: a great crowd or multitude : swarm <clouds of mosquitoes> 3: something that has a dark, lowering, or threatening aspect <clouds of war> <a cloud of suspicion>4: something that obscures or blemishes <a cloud of ambiguity>5: a dark or opaque vein or spot (as in marble or a precious stone)

[cloud illustration]