Graupel

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German

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Graupel

Etymology

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

Pronunciation

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

Noun

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Graupel f (genitive Graupel, plural Graupeln) or
Graupel (sometimes informally) m (strong, genitive Graupels, plural Graupel)

  1. (meteorology) graupel; soft hail
    Synonym: Griesel

Usage notes

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  • 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

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Derived terms

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Descendants

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  • English: graupel

Further reading

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