%cloud%

n. [ Prob. fr. AS. clūd 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 ]

☞ 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 ]

v. t. [ imp. & p. p. Clouded; p. pr. & vb. n. Clouding. ] 1. To overspread or hide with a cloud or clouds; as, the sky is clouded. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. To darken or obscure, as if by hiding or enveloping with a cloud; hence, to render gloomy or sullen. [ 1913 Webster ]

One day too late, I fear me, noble lord,
Hath clouded all thy happy days on earth. Shak. [ 1913 Webster ]

Be not disheartened, then, nor cloud those looks. Milton. [ 1913 Webster ]

Nothing clouds men's minds and impairs their honesty like prejudice. M. Arnold. [ 1913 Webster ]

3. To blacken; to sully; to stain; to tarnish; to damage; -- esp. used of reputation or character. [ 1913 Webster ]

I would not be a stander-by to hear
My sovereign mistress clouded so, without
My present vengeance taken. Shak. [ 1913 Webster ]

4. To mark with, or darken in, veins or sports; to variegate with colors; as, to cloud yarn. [ 1913 Webster ]

And the nice conduct of a clouded cane. Pope. [ 1913 Webster ]

v. i. To grow cloudy; to become obscure with clouds; -- often used with up. [ 1913 Webster ]

Worthies, away! The scene begins to cloud. Shak. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. Mass of clouds; cloudiness. [ R. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

A scudding cloudage of shapes. Coleridge. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. (Bot.) A species of raspberry (Rubus Chamæmerous) growing in the northern regions, and bearing edible, amber-colored fruit. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. Built of, or in, the clouds; airy; unsubstantial; imaginary. Cowper. [ 1913 Webster ]

So vanished my cloud-built palace. Goldsmith. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. A sudden copious rainfall, as if the whole cloud had been precipitated at once. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. Having clouds resting on the top or head; reaching to the clouds; as, cloud-capped mountains. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. Cloud-gatherer; -- an epithet applied to Zeus. [ Poetic. ] Pope. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. an imaginary place where fantasy and illusion predominate; it is a place where you say people are when they seem optimistically out of touch with reality. [ WordNet 1.5 +PJC ]

adv. In a cloudy manner; darkly; obscurely. Dryden. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. The state of being cloudy. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. 1. A mottled appearance given to ribbons and silks in the process of dyeing. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. A diversity of colors in yarn, recurring at regular intervals. Knight. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. Dreamland. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. Without a cloud; clear; bright. [ 1913 Webster ]

A cloudless winter sky. Bankroft.

-- Cloud"less*ly, adv. -- Cloud"less*ness, n. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. A little cloud. R. Browning. [ 1913 Webster ]

Eve's first star through fleecy cloudlet peeping. Coleridge. [ 1913 Webster ]

adj. resembling a cloud.
Syn. -- nebular. [ WordNet 1.5 ]

n. a state of extreme or perfect happiness; used especially in the phrase on cloud nine.
Syn. -- bliss, blissfulness, seventh-heaven. [ WordNet 1.5 +PJC ]

a. [ Compar. Cloudier superl. Cloudiest. ] [ From Cloud, n. ] 1. Overcast or obscured with clouds; clouded; as, a cloudy sky. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. Consisting of a cloud or clouds. [ 1913 Webster ]

As Moses entered into the tabernacle, the cloudy pillar descended. Ex. xxxiii. 9 [ 1913 Webster ]

3. Indicating gloom, anxiety, sullenness, or ill-nature; not open or cheerful. “A cloudy countenance.” Shak. [ 1913 Webster ]

4. Confused; indistinct; obscure; dark. [ 1913 Webster ]

Cloudy and confused notions of things. Watts. [ 1913 Webster ]

5. Lacking clearness, brightness, or luster. “A cloudy diamond.” Boyle. [ 1913 Webster ]

6. Marked with veins or sports of dark or various hues, as marble. [ 1913 Webster ]

v. t. To clear from clouds. [ Archaic ] Fuller. [ 1913 Webster ]

v. t. [ Cf. Incloud. ] To envelop in clouds; to cloud. [ R. ] Spenser. [ 1913 Webster ]

adj. unable to concentrate on matters at hand; flighty[ 2 ].
Syn. -- flighty, scatterbrained. [ WordNet 1.5 ]

v. t. To envelop as in clouds; to darken; to obscure. Milton. [ 1913 Webster ]

v. t. To cloud. [ R. ] Daniel. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. (Astron.) Either of two conspicuous celestial nebulae near the south celestial pole, resembling thin white clouds, each of which is a galaxy{ 2 } smaller than but separate from the Milky Way galaxy, and together they are the galactic formations nearest to our galaxy. They are not visible from the northern hemisphere, and are named after Ferdinand Magellan, who saw them in his expedition, which passed through the Strait of Magellan in South America, and one ship of which completed the first circumnavigation of the globe. [ 1913 Webster ]

v. t. To cover or overspread with clouds; to becloud; to overcast. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. A cloud charged with electricity, and producing lightning and thunder. [ 1913 Webster ]

v. t. [ 1st pref. un- + cloud. ] To free from clouds; to unvail; to clear from obscurity, gloom, sorrow, or the like. Beau. & Fl. [ 1913 Webster ]