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prettygoodwordgraupel (GRAU-puhl) - n., form of frozen precipitation consisting of snowflakes and supercooled water droplets frozen together, snow pellets.
Sometimes also called called soft hail. Here in the desert, I see graupel more often than actual snowflakes, but not as much as I do actual hail. Borrowed in 1889 from German, where it comes from the diminutive of Graupe, hulled grain, probably borrowed in turn from Serbo-Croat krupa or some other Slavic origin -- akin to Russian krupá, peeled grain, groats. First syllable rhymes with how.
---L.
Sometimes also called called soft hail. Here in the desert, I see graupel more often than actual snowflakes, but not as much as I do actual hail. Borrowed in 1889 from German, where it comes from the diminutive of Graupe, hulled grain, probably borrowed in turn from Serbo-Croat krupa or some other Slavic origin -- akin to Russian krupá, peeled grain, groats. First syllable rhymes with how.
---L.
