Graupel
German edit
Etymology edit
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 edit
Noun edit
Graupel f (genitive Graupel, plural Graupeln) or
Graupel (sometimes informally) m (strong, genitive Graupels, plural Graupel)
- (meteorology) graupel; soft hail
- Synonym: Griesel
Usage notes edit
- 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 edit
Declension of Graupel [feminine]
Declension of Graupel [masculine (sometimes informally), strong]
Derived terms edit
Descendants edit
- → English: graupel
Further reading edit
- Graupel on the German Wikipedia.Wikipedia de
- “Graupel” in Duden online
- “Graupel” in Digitales Wörterbuch der deutschen Sprache