storm

Meanings

1. 1
   noun

   Very bad weather with strong winds and usually rain, thunder, or lightning.

   The storm knocked down trees all over the city.

2. 2
   verb

   To rain or snow hard with strong winds, often with thunder and lightning.

   It stormed all night, so we stayed indoors.

3. 3
   noun

   A sudden, strong outburst of feeling, protest, or activity.

   The new policy caused a storm of protest.

The verb is derived from Middle English stormen (“of the wind: to blow violently; to cause to roll or toss”), from storm (noun) (see etymology 1) + -en (suffix forming the infinitives of verbs). Compare Middle English sturmen (“to attack (someone) with great force”), from Old English styrman (“to rage, storm; to make a great noise, cry aloud, shout, storm”), from Proto-West Germanic *sturmijan (“to storm”), from Proto-Germanic *sturmijaną (“to storm”), from *sturmaz (“a storm”) (see etymology 1) + *-janą (suffix forming causatives from strong verbs, with a sense of ‘to cause to do [the action…

Topics