plum rain

English

Etymology

See plum rains.

Pronunciation

• (Received Pronunciation, General American) IPA^(key): /plʌm ˈɹeɪn/
• Rhymes: -eɪn

Noun

plum rain (plural plum rains)

1. Synonym of plum rains (“the East Asian rainy season from early summer to midsummer in the fourth and fifth lunar months (early June to early or mid-July); also, the rain which falls during this season”)
   • 1894 January, [anonymous], “Chinese Poetry in English Verse [Thoughts on the View from an Old Tower]”, in Herbert A[llen] Giles, transl., edited by James Knowles, The Nineteenth Century: A Monthly Review, volume XXXV, number CCIII, New York, N.Y.: Leonard Scott Publication Co., […]; London: Sampson Law, Marston & Company, →OCLC, page 123:

     The heroes of those thousand years? / Alas! like running water, gone; / Yet still the fever-blast one hears, / And still the plum-rain patters on.

   • 1929, Y[oshitarō] Takenobu [ja], “Geography”, in The Japan Year Book: Complete Cyclopaedia of General Information and Statistics on Japan and Japanese Territories for the Year 1929, Tokyo: The Japan Year Book Office […], →OCLC, page 10:

     Besides, the general rainfall caused by the occasional visitation of cyclones and typhoons a long spell of wet weather prevails from the second decade of June to the first decade of July. This rainy season is commonly known as "Bai-u" or "Plum-rain", as it occurs when the plums are getting ripe. This "Plum-rain" season begins earlier in the lower latitude and progresses to the higher latitude.