virga

[ vur-guh ]

/ ˈvɜr gə /

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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).

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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…

candystring

candyfloss

candypuff

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Origin of virga

1935–40; <Latin: rod, streak

Words nearby virga

vireo, vires, virescence, virescent, Virg., virga, virgate, Virgil, Virgilian, virgin, virginal

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use virga in a sentence

Ego vir videns paupertatem meam in virga indignationis ejus.
The Thoughts of Blaise Pascal|Blaise Pascal
Now this cone and stem are carried in the Bacchic festivities, and can be readily recognised as virga cum ovo.
Ancient Pagan and Modern Christian Symbolism|Thomas Inman
Hence it follows that the quarter of an acre is a rood or yard or virga or virgata of land.
Domesday Book and Beyond|Frederic William Maitland
In the Exchequer book an abbreviated form is used; but virga appears in i. 216 b.
Domesday Book and Beyond|Frederic William Maitland

There are of course many instances in the charters of a pertica, virga, gyrd used as a measure of mere length.
Domesday Book and Beyond|Frederic William Maitland

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

[ vûr′gə ]

Light wisps of precipitation streaming from a cloud but evaporating before reaching the ground, especially when the air below is low in humidity.