■ noun
1》 a visible mass of condensed watery vapour floating in the atmosphere, typically high above the general level of the ground.
↘an indistinct or billowing mass, especially of smoke or dust.
2》 a state or cause of gloom or anxiety.
3》 an opaque patch within a transparent substance.
■ verb
1》 (usu. ~ over ) (of the sky) become full of ~s.
2》 make or become less clear or transparent.
3》 make unclear or uncertain.
↘spoil (something).
4》 (of the face or eyes) show sadness, anxiety, or anger.
Phrases
in (or with one's head in ) the ~s out of touch with reality.
on ~ nine (or seven ) extremely happy. [with ref. to a ten-part classification of ~s in which ‘nine’ was next to the highest.]
under a ~ under suspicion or discredited.
Derivatives
~less adjective
~lessly adverb
~let noun
Word History
The earliest use of ~ is recorded in Old English, in the sense 'a mass of rock; a hill'; from this sense arose a number of place names, such as Thorp Cloud , a hill in Derbyshire. Later it was used in the same sense as clod to mean 'a lump of earth or clay'; indeed it is likely that ~ , clod , and clot come ultimately from the same root. The current sense, 'mass of watery vapour', is first recorded in a reference in the medieval work the Cursor Mundi to the sun climbing the ~s.