Hoar frost
noun ·Rare ·Advanced level
Definitions
- 1 Originally, any frozen dew forming a white deposit on exposed surfaces. countable, uncountable
"He [the Lord] geueth ſnowe like woll, & ſcatereth yͤ horefroſt like aſhes."
- 2 Water vapour which has undergone deposition or desublimation (“transformation directly into ice crystals without first turning into liquid water”) when the air is cold and moist to form a white deposit on exposed surfaces. countable, specifically, uncountable
"On Sunday night, January 23, ſeveral things vvere laid out at the Obſervatory, ſuch as ſheets of brovvn paper, pieces of boards, plates of metal, glaſſes of ſeveral kinds, &c. vvhich all began to contract hoar-froſt ſeemingly as ſoon as each body had time to cool dovvn to the temperature of the air. The ſheets of brovvn paper being ſo thin acquired it ſooneſt, and vvhen beheld in candle-light they became beautifully ſpangled over by innumerable reflections from the ſmall cryſtals of hoar-froſt vvhich had parted from the air."
Synonyms
All synonymsExample
More examples"He [the Lord] geueth ſnowe like woll, & ſcatereth yͤ horefroſt like aſhes."
Etymology
PIE word *prustós From Middle English hore frost, horfrost [and other forms], from hor (“grey; greyish-white”, adjective) (from Old English hār (“grey”), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *(s)ḱeh₃- (“darkness; shadow”)) + frost (“cold spell, freezing weather, frost; hoar-frost; rime”) (from Old English frost, forst, ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *prustós (“frost”)). The English word is analysable as hoar (“greyish-white; white”, adjective) + frost.