Visible masses of water vapor floating in the sky that form when water evaporates and rises into the atmosphere.
From Old English 'clud,' originally meaning a hill or lump of earth, then metaphorically applied to cloud shapes. The word's meaning shifted from solid ground to floating sky formations by around 1300s.
Clouds were once thought to be solid enough that angels could stand on them—that's how differently people imagined them before understanding water vapor! The word itself came from calling them 'lumps' in the sky.
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