rainwater

See also: rain water

English

Alternative forms

• rain water

Etymology

From Middle English reinwater, from Old English reġnwæter, equivalent to rain +‎ water. Cognate with West Frisian reinwetter, Dutch regenwater, German Regenwasser, Swedish regnvatten.

Noun

rainwater (usually uncountable, plural rainwaters)

1. Rainfall.
   • 2011 January 12, Joel Kirkland, “Australia's Record Rains Squeeze World Coal Supplies as Scientists Study Climate Pattern”, in The New York Times‎^[1]:

     In early December, as rainwaters had started the monthlong process of flooding mines and washing out rail lines, workers lined up before 1 p.m. at an easy-to-miss storefront depot in Mackay.

2. Water (for a house, etc.) sourced from rain which has not joined a spring, stream or river, pond, lake or sea.
   • 1987 January 18, Paula Deitz, “ISLAND LIVING, ENGLISH STYLE”, in The New York Times‎^[2]:

     Constructed of hard flint stone, which came as ballast from England and is now painted coral white, the house has a fishpond, or catchment, roof, dating from 1788, to collect rainwater.

Derived terms

• rainwater goods

Translations

rainfall — see rainfall

water sourced from rain

• Arabic: مِيَاه اَلْأَمْطَار m pl (miyāh al-ʔamṭār)
• Bulgarian: дъждовна вода f (dǎždovna voda)
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 雨水 (zh) (yǔshuǐ)

• Czech: dešťovka (cs) f, dešťová voda f
• Danish: regnvand (da) n
• Dutch: regenwater (nl) n
• Finnish: sadevesi (fi)
• French: eaux de pluie f pl
• Galician: auga de choiva f
• German: Regenwasser (de) n
• Hungarian: esővíz (hu)
• Icelandic: regnvatn (is) n
• Indonesian: air hujan
• Italian: acqua piovana f
• Japanese: 雨水 (ja) (あまみず, amamizu), 雨水 (ja) (usui)
• Korean: 빗물 (ko) (binmul), 우수 (ko) (usu)
• Lao: please add this translation if you can
• Lü: ᦓᧄᧉᦚᦳᧃ (nam²ḟun)
• Macedonian: дождовница f (doždovnica)
• Maori: wai ua
• Marathi: पावसाचे पाणी n (pāvsāce pāṇī)
• Norwegian:

  Bokmål: regnvann n

• Old English: reġnwæter n
• Old Tupi: amana
• Polish: deszczówka (pl) f
• Portuguese: água da/de chuva f
• Russian: дождева́я вода́ f (doždevája vodá)
• Scottish Gaelic: uisge-adhair m
• Slovak: dažďovica (sk) f, dažďová voda f
• Spanish: agua de lluvia, agua llovediza f
• Swedish: regnvatten (sv) n
• Thai: please add this translation if you can
• Tuvan: чаъс суу (çàs suu)
• Ukrainian: дощова́ вода́ f (doščová vodá)
• Vietnamese: nước mưa
• Yiddish: רעגן־וואַסער n (regn-vaser)