pluv-, pluvio-, pluvi-

Pertaining to a tool that determines the amount of rainfall at any given time: Mr. Lange showed his biology students his pluviometrical device that still contained the amount of precipitation from the day before.

Referring to a method that can determine the amount of water that has fallen during a specific rainfall: The aqueous vapor gauge pluviometrically measured the quantity of moisture that fell during the last 24 hours so Jane could enter the data into her statistics for her class at school.

The amount of downpour that has fallen on any particular day or night: Pluviometry is a part of meteorology that focuses on the different forms of water coming from the sky which indicates its formation and distribution.

1. Anyone or anything that has a fondness for or a desire for rain: There are many plants that are pluviophiles because they need an abundance of rain in order to survive and to reproduce.
2. Etymology: literally, "a love or fondness for rain" from pluvio-, "rain" + phile, "fondness, love".

In biology, relating to creatures and plants that can thrive where large amounts of rainfall exist: The Amazon River is in a region with pluviophilous rain forests, where plants grow in hot, humid, and very wet weather conditions.

A condition that makes it possible for plants and certain animals to continue living with large amounts of rain: In order to provide enough moisture for certain plants, a pluviophily had to be constructed inside the arboretum at the botanical gardens.

A plant or animal that cannot normally exist when there is a lot of rain: Desert plants, such as cacti, cannot tolerate conditions when there is an abnormally large amount of precipitation and are therefore considered to be pluviophobes.

In school, Jack learned that scorpions are pluviophobes because they usually live in dry regions, not in wet areas.

1. An abnormal fear of rain: Because her parents died in a deluge and flooding when she was a child, Jane developed pluviophobia and avoided going outside even when it was just sprinkling.
2. In biology, life-threatening conditions for certain species of plants and other life forms when there are large amounts of rainfall: Valerie received orchids and a book about them as birthday presents and she read that orchids were affected by pluviophobia requiring very little water, plenty of light from outside, but no direct sunlight, and should exist at room temperature.

Pertaining to plants or animals that cannot survive in heavy amounts of rain: Worms, spiders and flies are pluviophobous creatures, which certainly are not able to continue living after being drenched with a large quantity of water.

An unacceptable condition or situation that involves extensive rainfall which makes it impossible for certain life forms to survive: Because of the uncommon and sudden pluviophoby in the desert, the water gushed over the sun-baked ground taking and destroying much animal and plant life along the way to the basins.

An instrument for measuring rainfall which is known as a rain gauge: The pluvioscope is a device that indicates the quantity of precipitation in a specific period of time.

1. The fifth month of the French Revolutionary calendar (January 20 to February 18) which was adopted in 1793 as the rainy month.
2. Etymology: from Latin pluviosus, "rainy".

A time during which there is heavy rainfall: In his biology class at school, Greg volunteered to measure the pluviosity of water falling from the atmosphere in his home town so the amount could be compared to the year before.

Characterizing or relating to heavy rainfall: One dark and pluvious evening, Carol sat next to the fireplace reading her book with her cat on her lap and enjoying the sound of raindrops falling against her living room window.

A reference to a sticky or viscid (gooey, slow-moving) consistency that takes place during rainy periods; especially, the fungal caps; such as, the tops of mushrooms or other kinds of fungi: Right after the downpour, Janet and her husband went for a walk and noticed the toadstools under the pine tree in their back yard which not only had pluviovisid tops, that were quite shiny, but they were also glutinous or thick and sticky when touched.