Graupel

German

Graupel

Etymology

16th century. From Graupe (hulled grain) + -el (diminutive). Graupe is from Slavic, where the senses “hulled grain” and “hail” are both present. Compare Polish krupa, Czech kroupa, Serbo-Croatian krupa.

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /ˈɡʁaʊ̯pəl/
  • (file)
  • Hyphenation: Grau‧pel

Noun

Graupel f or m (genitive Graupel or Graupels, plural Graupeln or Graupel)

  1. (meteorology) graupel; soft hail

Usage notes

  • The word was originally a feminine referring to a single flake of graupel and hence chiefly used in the plural Graupeln. However, the unchanged form Graupel has now become predominant. It may be construed as a plural, a feminine singular, or—at least informally—a masculine singular (on the model of words like Hagel, Regen, Schnee). The ambiguity is often circumvented by using the compound Graupelschauer.

Declension

Synonyms

  • Griesel

Derived terms

  • graupeln
  • Graupelschauer

Descendants

Further reading

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