Stratus

Stratus
Cloud Cloud (kloud), n. [Prob. fr. AS. cl[=u]d a rock or hillock, the application arising from the frequent resemblance of clouds to rocks or hillocks in the sky or air.] 1. A collection of visible vapor, or watery particles, suspended in the upper atmosphere. [1913 Webster]

I do set my bow in the cloud. --Gen. ix. 13. [1913 Webster]

Note: A classification of clouds according to their chief forms was first proposed by the meteorologist Howard, and this is still substantially employed. The following varieties and subvarieties are recognized: (a) {Cirrus}. This is the most elevated of all the forms of clouds; is thin, long-drawn, sometimes looking like carded wool or hair, sometimes like a brush or room, sometimes in curl-like or fleecelike patches. It is the cat's-tail of the sailor, and the mare's-tail of the landsman. (b) {Cumulus}. This form appears in large masses of a hemispherical form, or nearly so, above, but flat below, one often piled above another, forming great clouds, common in the summer, and presenting the appearance of gigantic mountains crowned with snow. It often affords rain and thunder gusts. (c) {Stratus}. This form appears in layers or bands extending horizontally. (d) {Nimbus}. This form is characterized by its uniform gray tint and ragged edges; it covers the sky in seasons of continued rain, as in easterly storms, and is the proper rain cloud. The name is sometimes used to denote a raining cumulus, or cumulostratus. (e) {Cirro-cumulus}. This form consists, like the cirrus, of thin, broken, fleecelice clouds, but the parts are more or less rounded and regulary grouped. It is popularly called mackerel sky. (f) {Cirro-stratus}. In this form the patches of cirrus coalesce in long strata, between cirrus and stratus. (g) {Cumulo-stratus}. A form between cumulus and stratus, often assuming at the horizon a black or bluish tint. -- {Fog}, cloud, motionless, or nearly so, lying near or in contact with the earth's surface. -- {Storm scud}, cloud lying quite low, without form, and driven rapidly with the wind. [1913 Webster]

2. A mass or volume of smoke, or flying dust, resembling vapor. ``A thick cloud of incense.'' --Ezek. viii. 11. [1913 Webster]

3. A dark vein or spot on a lighter material, as in marble; hence, a blemish or defect; as, a cloud upon one's reputation; a cloud on a title. [1913 Webster]

4. That which has a dark, lowering, or threatening aspect; that which temporarily overshadows, obscures, or depresses; as, a cloud of sorrow; a cloud of war; a cloud upon the intellect. [1913 Webster]

5. A great crowd or multitude; a vast collection. ``So great a cloud of witnesses.'' --Heb. xii. 1. [1913 Webster]

6. A large, loosely-knitted scarf, worn by women about the head. [1913 Webster]

{Cloud on a} (or the) {title} (Law), a defect of title, usually superficial and capable of removal by release, decision in equity, or legislation.

{To be under a cloud}, to be under suspicion or in disgrace; to be in disfavor.

{In the clouds}, in the realm of facy and imagination; beyond reason; visionary. [1913 Webster]


The Collaborative International Dictionary of English. 2000.

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  • stratus — [ stratys ] n. m. • 1830; mot lat. « étendu » → strate ♦ Didact. Nuage de grande étendue qui présente l aspect d un voile gris continu. ⇒ altostratus, cirrostratus, stratocumulus. Des stratus. ● stratus nom masculin (latin stratus, étendu) Couche …   Encyclopédie Universelle

  • stratus — STRÁTUS s.m. Nori de forma unui strat orizontal, uniform şi continuu, de culoare cenuşie, asemănători cu ceaţa, situaţi la înălţimi joase şi care produc burniţă şi zăpadă grăunţoasă. – Din fr., lat. stratus. Trimis de LauraGellner, 13.09.2007.… …   Dicționar Român

  • Stratus — may refer to:*Stratus cloud, a cloud type **Nimbostratus cloud, a cloud type **Stratocumulus cloud, a cloud type **Altostratus cloud, a cloud type **Altostratus undulatus cloud, a cloud type **Cirrostratus cloud, a cloud type *Stratus, a Serbian… …   Wikipedia

  • stratus — (n.) a low layer of cloud, 1803, from L. stratus a spreading, from stratus, pp. of sternere (see STRATUM (Cf. stratum)) …   Etymology dictionary

  • Stratus — Stra tus, n. [L. stratus a spreading out, scattering, from sternere, stratum, to spread.] (Meteor.) A form of clouds in which they are arranged in a horizontal band or layer. See {Cloud}. [1913 Webster] …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • stratus — strȃtus m DEFINICIJA meteor. sivi jednolični oblačni sloj, općenito jednolike podnice na visini između 200 i 700 m, može dati rosulju, slab ili zrnati snijeg ETIMOLOGIJA lat. stratus: prostrt ← sternere: prostirati …   Hrvatski jezični portal

  • Stratus — (lat.), die Schichtwolke, s. Wolken …   Meyers Großes Konversations-Lexikon

  • Stratus — (lat.), Schichtwolke, Wolkenform mit oben und unten horizontalen Grenzflächen …   Kleines Konversations-Lexikon

  • strȃtus — m meteor. sivi jednolični oblačni sloj, općenito jednolike podnice na visini između 200 i 700 m, može dati rosulju, slab ili zrnati snijeg ✧ {{001f}}lat …   Veliki rječnik hrvatskoga jezika

  • stratus — ► NOUN ▪ cloud forming a continuous horizontal grey sheet, often with rain or snow. ORIGIN Latin, strewn …   English terms dictionary

  • stratus — [strāt′əs] n. pl. strati [strat′ī] [L, a strewing: see STRATUM] the type of gray cloud found at low altitudes and consisting of a uniform layer of water droplets and sometimes ice crystals: see CLOUD …   English World dictionary

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