cirrus

English

Etymology

From Latin cirrus (“curl”).

A sky filled with cirrus clouds

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈsɪɹəs/

• Audio (Southern England):

  (file)

• Rhymes: -ɪɹəs

Noun

cirrus (plural cirri)

1. (botany) A tendril.
2. (zoology) A thin tendril-like appendage.
3. (meteorology) A principal high-level cloud type characterised by white, delicate filaments or wisps, of white (or mostly white) patches, or of narrow bands, found at an altitude of above 7000 metres.
   • 1952, Ernest Hemingway, The old man and the sea, Harper Perennial classics, published 2014, page 282:

     He looked at the sky and saw the white cumulus built like friendly piles of ice cream and high above where the thin feathers of the cirrus against the high September sky.

   • 1996, David Foster Wallace, Infinite Jest […], Boston, Mass., New York, N.Y.: Little, Brown and Company, →ISBN, page 15:

     The blue sky is glossy and fat with heat, a few thin cirri sheared to blown strands like hair at the rims.

Derived terms

• cirral
• cirriferous
• cirriform
• stratocirrus

Translations

tendril

• Bulgarian: ластар (bg) m (lastar)
• Catalan: cirrus (ca) m, circell m
• Czech: úponek (cs) m
• Esperanto: ĉiro (eo)
• Estonian: väänel, köitraag
• Galician: cirro m
• Portuguese: cirro (pt) m

cloud

• Arabic: طَخَاء m (ṭaḵāʔ)
• Asturian: cirru m
• Bulgarian: перест облак m (perest oblak)
• Catalan: cirrus (ca) m
• Chinese:

  Cantonese: 卷雲 / 卷云 (gyun² wan⁴)

  Mandarin: 卷雲 / 卷云 (juǎnyún)

• Czech: řasa (cs) f
• Dutch: windveer (nl), cirrus (nl), vederwolk
• Esperanto: ciruso
• Estonian: kiudpilv
• Finnish: cirruspilvi, cirrus (fi)
• French: cirrus (fr) m
• Galician: cirro m
• Greek: θύσανος (el) m (thýsanos)
• Hindi: पक्षाभ (pakṣābh)
• Hungarian: pehelyfelhő (hu)
• Icelandic: klósigar m pl, blikutrefjar f pl, blikufjaðrir f pl, vatnsklær f pl
• Italian: cirro (it) m
• Japanese: 巻雲 (ja) (けんうん, ken'un), すじ雲 (sujigumo)
• Latin: cirrus m, nubes cirra f
• Latvian: spalvu mākonis m
• Macedonian: цирус m (cirus)
• Maori: pūrerehu, iorangi, pūrehurehu
• Navajo: kʼos áłtʼą́ą́ʼí
• Polish: cirrus (pl) m, chmura pierzasta f
• Portuguese: cirro (pt) m
• Russian: пе́ристая (ru) f (péristaja)
• Spanish: cirro (es) m
• Tagalog: ruruking alapaap
• Vietnamese: mây ti

Catalan

Etymology

Learned borrowing from Latin cirrus. Doublet of cerro.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): (Central, Balearic, Valencia) [ˈsi.rus]

Noun

cirrus m (invariable)

1. (botany) cirrus, tendril

   Synonym: circell

2. (zoology) cirrus (tendril-like appendage)
3. (meteorology) cirrus (cloud)

Further reading

• “cirrus” in Diccionari de la llengua catalana, segona edició, Institut d’Estudis Catalans.
• “cirrus”, in Gran Diccionari de la Llengua Catalana, Grup Enciclopèdia Catalana, 2025
• “cirrus” in Diccionari normatiu valencià, Acadèmia Valenciana de la Llengua.
• “cirrus” in Diccionari català-valencià-balear, Antoni Maria Alcover and Francesc de Borja Moll, 1962.

Finnish

Etymology

From New Latin cirrus.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈsirːus/, [ˈs̠irːus̠]
• Rhymes: -irːus
• Hyphenation^(key): cir‧rus

Noun

cirrus

1. cirrus (type of cloud)

Declension

Inflection of cirrus (Kotus type 39/vastaus, no gradation)
nominative		cirrus	cirrukset
genitive		cirruksen	cirrusten cirruksien
partitive		cirrusta	cirruksia
illative		cirrukseen	cirruksiin
		singular	plural
nominative		cirrus	cirrukset
accusative	nom.	cirrus	cirrukset
	gen.	cirruksen
genitive		cirruksen	cirrusten cirruksien
partitive		cirrusta	cirruksia
inessive		cirruksessa	cirruksissa
elative		cirruksesta	cirruksista
illative		cirrukseen	cirruksiin
adessive		cirruksella	cirruksilla
ablative		cirrukselta	cirruksilta
allative		cirrukselle	cirruksille
essive		cirruksena	cirruksina
translative		cirrukseksi	cirruksiksi
abessive		cirruksetta	cirruksitta
instructive		—	cirruksin
comitative		See the possessive forms below.

Possessive forms of cirrus (Kotus type 39/vastaus, no gradation)

first-person singular possessor singular plural nominative cirrukseni cirrukseni accusative nom. cirrukseni cirrukseni gen. cirrukseni genitive cirrukseni cirrusteni cirruksieni partitive cirrustani cirruksiani inessive cirruksessani cirruksissani elative cirruksestani cirruksistani illative cirrukseeni cirruksiini adessive cirruksellani cirruksillani ablative cirrukseltani cirruksiltani allative cirrukselleni cirruksilleni essive cirruksenani cirruksinani translative cirruksekseni cirruksikseni abessive cirruksettani cirruksittani instructive — — comitative — cirruksineni second-person singular possessor singular plural nominative cirruksesi cirruksesi accusative nom. cirruksesi cirruksesi gen. cirruksesi genitive cirruksesi cirrustesi cirruksiesi partitive cirrustasi cirruksiasi inessive cirruksessasi cirruksissasi elative cirruksestasi cirruksistasi illative cirrukseesi cirruksiisi adessive cirruksellasi cirruksillasi ablative cirrukseltasi cirruksiltasi allative cirruksellesi cirruksillesi essive cirruksenasi cirruksinasi translative cirrukseksesi cirruksiksesi abessive cirruksettasi cirruksittasi instructive — — comitative — cirruksinesi first-person plural possessor singular plural nominative cirruksemme cirruksemme accusative nom. cirruksemme cirruksemme gen. cirruksemme genitive cirruksemme cirrustemme cirruksiemme partitive cirrustamme cirruksiamme inessive cirruksessamme cirruksissamme elative cirruksestamme cirruksistamme illative cirrukseemme cirruksiimme adessive cirruksellamme cirruksillamme ablative cirrukseltamme cirruksiltamme allative cirruksellemme cirruksillemme essive cirruksenamme cirruksinamme translative cirrukseksemme cirruksiksemme abessive cirruksettamme cirruksittamme instructive — — comitative — cirruksinemme second-person plural possessor singular plural nominative cirruksenne cirruksenne accusative nom. cirruksenne cirruksenne gen. cirruksenne genitive cirruksenne cirrustenne cirruksienne partitive cirrustanne cirruksianne inessive cirruksessanne cirruksissanne elative cirruksestanne cirruksistanne illative cirrukseenne cirruksiinne adessive cirruksellanne cirruksillanne ablative cirrukseltanne cirruksiltanne allative cirruksellenne cirruksillenne essive cirruksenanne cirruksinanne translative cirrukseksenne cirruksiksenne abessive cirruksettanne cirruksittanne instructive — — comitative — cirruksinenne third-person possessor singular plural nominative cirruksensa cirruksensa accusative nom. cirruksensa cirruksensa gen. cirruksensa genitive cirruksensa cirrustensa cirruksiensa partitive cirrustaan cirrustansa cirruksiaan cirruksiansa inessive cirruksessaan cirruksessansa cirruksissaan cirruksissansa elative cirruksestaan cirruksestansa cirruksistaan cirruksistansa illative cirrukseensa cirruksiinsa adessive cirruksellaan cirruksellansa cirruksillaan cirruksillansa ablative cirrukseltaan cirrukseltansa cirruksiltaan cirruksiltansa allative cirrukselleen cirruksellensa cirruksilleen cirruksillensa essive cirruksenaan cirruksenansa cirruksinaan cirruksinansa translative cirruksekseen cirrukseksensa cirruksikseen cirruksiksensa abessive cirruksettaan cirruksettansa cirruksittaan cirruksittansa instructive — — comitative — cirruksineen cirruksinensa

Synonyms

• cirruspilvi
• untuvapilvi

Derived terms

compounds

• cirruspilvi

Further reading

• “cirrus”, in Kielitoimiston sanakirja [Dictionary of Contemporary Finnish]‎^[1] (in Finnish) (online dictionary, continuously updated), Kotimaisten kielten keskuksen verkkojulkaisuja 35, Helsinki: Kotimaisten kielten tutkimuskeskus (Institute for the Languages of Finland), 2004–, retrieved 2023-07-02

Latin

Etymology

The origin is unknown. There are no definitive cognates in other Indo-European languages. Compare Proto-Germanic *hērą (“hair”).

Pronunciation

• (Classical Latin) IPA^(key): /ˈkir.rus/, [ˈkɪrːʊs̠]
• (modern Italianate Ecclesiastical) IPA^(key): /ˈt͡ʃir.rus/, [ˈt͡ʃirːus]

Noun

cirrus m (genitive cirrī); second declension

1. a curl
2. the fringe of clothes
3. the tentacle of an octopus
4. the mane, especially the forelock, of a horse

Declension

Second-declension noun.

	singular	plural
nominative	cirrus	cirrī
genitive	cirrī	cirrōrum
dative	cirrō	cirrīs
accusative	cirrum	cirrōs
ablative	cirrō	cirrīs
vocative	cirre	cirrī

Descendants

• Catalan: cerro
• Galician: cerro
• Italian: cirro
• Portuguese: cerro
• Spanish: cerro

References

• “cirrus”, in Charlton T. Lewis and Charles Short (1879) A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
• “cirrus”, in Charlton T. Lewis (1891) An Elementary Latin Dictionary, New York: Harper & Brothers
• "cirrus", in Charles du Fresne du Cange’s Glossarium Mediæ et Infimæ Latinitatis (augmented edition with additions by D. P. Carpenterius, Adelungius and others, edited by Léopold Favre, 1883–1887)
• “cirrus”, in Harry Thurston Peck, editor (1898), Harper's Dictionary of Classical Antiquities, New York: Harper & Brothers
• “cirrus”, in William Smith et al., editor (1890), A Dictionary of Greek and Roman Antiquities, London: William Wayte. G. E. Marindin

Polish

Etymology

Learned borrowing from Latin cirrus.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈt͡sir.rus/

• Audio:

  (file)

• Rhymes: -irrus
• Syllabification: cir‧rus

Noun

cirrus m animal

1. (meteorology) cirrus (type of cloud)

   Synonym: chmura pierzasta

Declension

Declension of cirrus

	singular	plural
nominative	cirrus	cirrusy
genitive	cirrusa	cirrusów
dative	cirrusowi	cirrusom
accusative	cirrusa	cirrusy
instrumental	cirrusem	cirrusami
locative	cirrusie	cirrusach
vocative	cirrusie	cirrusy

Further reading

• cirrus in Wielki słownik języka polskiego, Instytut Języka Polskiego PAN
• cirrus in Polish dictionaries at PWN