Puffy, cotton-like clouds with flat bases and rounded tops, formed by convective air currents rising from heated ground surfaces. These fair-weather clouds indicate stable atmospheric conditions when they remain small and scattered.
From Latin 'cumulus' meaning 'heap' or 'pile,' first used in meteorology by Luke Howard in 1803 when he created the modern cloud classification system. The term reflects the cloud's characteristic piled-up appearance.
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