Link Centre Dictionary

sleet

UK/sliːt/ US/ˈslit/ uncommon rare uk us
noun (1) verb (1)

noun

1.

partially melted snow (or a mixture of rain and snow)

verb

1.

precipitate as a mixture of rain and snow

  • “If the temperature rises above freezing, it will probably sleet”

Origin

From Middle English slete, probably from Old English *slēte, *slȳte, *slīete, from Proto-West Germanic *slautijā, from Proto-Germanic *slautijǭ (“sleet”). Walter W. Skeat, the author of Etymological Dictionary of the English Language, suggests Old Norse slydda (whence Danish slud (“mixture of rain and snow”)). The word appears to be akin to Low German Sloot (“hail”), dialectal German Schloße (“large hailstone”), Old Gutnish sloyta (“slush, sleet”). Doublet of slut.

Phrases

  • freezing rain
  • thunder sleet

Related words

Word family

Broader terms

WordNet 2.1 (Princeton University). Wiktionary (CC BY-SA). CMU Pronouncing Dictionary. WordNet 2.1 Copyright Princeton University. All rights reserved. Wiktionary content is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike Licence.