Dictionary.com

virga

[ vur-guh ]
/ ˈvɜr gə /
Save This Word!

noun (used with a singular or plural verb)Meteorology.
streaks of water drops or ice particles falling out of a cloud and evaporating before reaching the ground (distinguished from praecipitatio).
QUIZ
THINGAMABOB OR THINGUMMY: CAN YOU DISTINGUISH BETWEEN THE US AND UK TERMS IN THIS QUIZ?
Do you know the difference between everyday US and UK terminology? Test yourself with this quiz on words that differ across the Atlantic.
Question 1 of 7
In the UK, COTTON CANDY is more commonly known as…

Origin of virga

1935–40; <Latin: rod, streak
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use virga in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for virga

virga
/ (ˈvɜːɡə) /

noun
(sometimes functioning as plural) meteorol wisps of rain or snow, seen trailing from clouds, that evaporate before reaching the earth

Word Origin for virga

C20: from Latin: streak
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Scientific definitions for virga

virga
[ vûrgə ]

Light wisps of precipitation streaming from a cloud but evaporating before reaching the ground, especially when the air below is low in humidity.
The American Heritage® Science Dictionary Copyright © 2011. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
FEEDBACK