hail

hail¹

—hailer, n.

/hayl/, v.t.

1. to cheer, salute, or greet; welcome.

2. to acclaim; approve enthusiastically: The crowds hailed the conquerors. They hailed the recent advances in medicine.

3. to call out to in order to stop, attract attention, ask aid, etc.: to hail a cab.

v.i.

4. to call out in order to greet, attract attention, etc.: The people on land hailed as we passed in the night.

5. hail from, to have as one's place of birth or residence: Nearly everyone here hails from the Midwest.

n.

6. a shout or call to attract attention: They answered the hail of the marooned boaters.

7. a salutation or greeting: a cheerful hail.

8. the act of hailing.

9. within hail, within range of hearing; audible: The mother kept her children within hail of her voice.

interj.

10. (used as a salutation, greeting, or acclamation.)

[1150-1200; ME haile, earlier heilen, deriv. of hail health < ON heill; c. OE hael. See HEAL, WASSAIL]

Syn. 2. cheer, applaud, honor, exalt, laud, extol.

hail²

/hayl/, n.

1. showery precipitation in the form of irregular pellets or balls of ice more than ¹/₅ in. (5 mm) in diameter, falling from a cumulonimbus cloud (distinguished from sleet).

2. a shower or storm of such precipitation.

3. a shower of anything: a hail of bullets.

v.i.

4. to pour down hail (often used impersonally with it as subject): It hailed this afternoon.

5. to fall or shower as hail: Arrows hailed down on the troops as they advanced.

v.t.

6. to pour down on as or like hail: The plane hailed leaflets on the city.

[bef. 900; ME; OE haegl, var. of hagol; c. G Hagel, ON hagl]

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Precipitation of balls or pieces of ice with a diameter of 0.

2–4 in. (5 mm–10 cm). Small hail (also called sleet, or ice pellets) has a diameter of less than 0.2 in. Hail can be extremely destructive to buildings and crops; if it is large enough, it may be dangerous to animals. Hailstones 6 in. (15 cm) in diameter have fallen during storms in the U.S. Midwest. Hailstorms are most common in the middle latitudes and usually last around 15 minutes. They ordinarily occur in middle to late afternoon and may accompany thunderstorms.

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▪ meteorology

 precipitation of balls or pieces of ice with a diameter of 5 mm to 10 cm (about 0.2 to 4 inches). Small hail (also called sleet, or ice pellets) has a diameter of less than 5 mm. Because the formation of hail usually requires cumulonimbus or other convective clouds with strong updrafts, it often accompanies thunderstorms.

 Large hailstones are often characterized by alternating layers of clear and opaque ice, caused by irregular rates of freezing. In areas where the temperature is not far below 0° C (32° F), freezing occurs slowly, allowing trapped air to escape and producing clear ice. When the hailstone then moves into a much colder area, freezing occurs quickly, trapping air and producing a layer of white ice.

      Hail is extremely destructive to buildings and crops; if large enough, it may be dangerous to animals exposed to it. Hailstones about 15 cm (6 inches) in diameter have fallen during thunderstorms in the Middle Western United States. Hailstorms are most common in the middle latitudes and usually last around 15 minutes. They ordinarily occur in middle to late afternoon. See also sleet.

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