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squall

verb, noun — 5 senses

squall

verb

/ˈskwɔːl/

Etymology From Middle English *squalen and squelen (“to cry, scream, squall”), from Old Norse skvala (“to cry out”), probably ultimately imitative with influence from squeal and bawl. Cognate with Swedish skvala (“to gush, pour down”), Norwegian skval (“sudden rush of water”). The noun is probably from the verb.

1

To cry or wail loudly.

  • Squalling was the word for it, Pew's anger rose so high at these objections; till at last, his passion completely taking the upper hand, he struck at them right and left in his blindness, and his stick sounded heavily on more than one.1881–1882, Robert Louis Stevenson, Treasure Island, London; Paris: Cassell & Company, published 14 November 1883, →OCLC:
  • Squalling like an infuriated cat, the shadow crashed down1916, Jack London, The Red One:
3 more examples
  • The orchestra burst into a sudden loud squalling.1934 October, George Orwell [pseudonym; Eric Arthur Blair], Burmese Days, New York, N.Y.: Harper & Brothers, Publishers, →OCLC:
  • Some night-bird, belike, or a sea-gull squalling below the headland.1938, Norman Lindsay, Age of Consent, 1st Australian edition, Sydney, N.S.W.: Ure Smith, published 1962, →OCLC, page 39:
  • she wrapped the squalling, wriggling baby tightly into the fine cotton sheet1998, Anne McCafferey, Masterharper of Pern:
2

Of rain To fall suddenly and forcefully, as if a squall.

  • […] rain squalled fretfully against the schoolhouse roof. Although it had stopped by the time the afternoon recess was due, Miss Willie decided that it was too cold and raw for the children to be out a full half hour, so she sent them[…]1994 September 1, Janice Holt Giles, Miss Willie, University Press of Kentucky, →ISBN, page 165:
  • […] of squalling rain and a blustering westerly wind.2009 March 1, Helen Hollick, Kingmaking: Book One of the Pendragon's Banner Trilogy, Sourcebooks, Inc., →ISBN, page 5:
3 more examples
  • Rain squalled sudden against the window. The Old Writer cursed and shouldered out the door.2012 July 31, A. William James, Book Thirteen, eBook Partnership, →ISBN:
  • Rain squalled in heavy sheets across the street.2015 10, Cindy Williams, The Pounamu Prophecy, Rhiza Press, →ISBN:
  • […] the sky opened up into a cloud-burst of squalling rain.2018 May 30, Allan W. Waddy, Buckshot & Johnnycakes, FriesenPress, →ISBN, page 18:
Derived terms
squaller, squally

squall

noun

Etymology From Middle English *squalen and squelen (“to cry, scream, squall”), from Old Norse skvala (“to cry out”), probably ultimately imitative with influence from squeal and bawl. Cognate with Swedish skvala (“to gush, pour down”), Norwegian skval (“sudden rush of water”). The noun is probably from the verb.

1

Nautical, Transport Often A sudden storm, as found in a squall line.

  • Luckily she wasn’t there any more, no one was, when he returned from the Caribbean carnival damp-hatted and soaked through after being caught unprepared by a squall of hard, hot rain.2001, Salman Rushdie, Fury: A Novel, London: Jonathan Cape, →ISBN, page 5:
  • With reports of the Japanese forces bearing down on them confirmed, Rear Admiral Sprague orders his ships east, heading towards a series of rain squalls, hoping for concealment. This will hopefully delay the Japanese closing the range, and also draw them away from the much-more-vulnerable landing ships.2019 February 27, Drachinifel, 10:57 from the start, in The Battle of Samar - Odds? What are those?, archived from the original on 03 Nov 2022:
2

Climatology, Meteorology, Natural sciences A squall line, multicell line, or part of a squall line.

3

A loud cry or wail.

  • But the third Emir, now seeing himself all alone on the quarter-deck, seems to feel relieved from some curious restraint; for, tipping all sorts of knowing winks in all sorts of directions, and kicking off his shoes, he strikes into a sharp but noiseless squall of a hornpipe right over the Grand Turk’s head; and then, by a dexterous sleight, pitching his cap up into the mizentop for a shelf, he goes down rollicking so far at least as he remains visible from the deck, reversing all other processions, by bringing up the rear with music.1851 November 14, Herman Melville, chapter 34, in Moby-Dick; or, The Whale, 1st American edition, New York, N.Y.: Harper & Brothers; London: Richard Bentley, →OCLC, page 163:
  • The media present rising prices as a passing squall for the middle class, brought on by Vlad ’n’ Liz and resulting in spiking mortgage rates and fewer trips to Waitrose. But beneath those headlines are millions of others for whom the problem isn’t rising prices, but falling incomes.2023 August 17, Aditya Chakrabortty, “Can’t pay and they really do take it away: what happens when the bailiffs come knocking”, in The Guardian:
Derived terms
black squall, rainsquall, snow squall, squallery, squallish, thundersquall, white squall

Entry derived from the Wiktionary, under licence CC BY-SA 4.0 — list of authors.

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