An Etymological Dictionary of Astronomy and Astrophysics

Any sudden and heavy fall of → rain, always of the → shower type.

Etymology (EN): → cloud; → burst.

Etymology (PE): Ragbâr, from rag + bâr. The second component bâr, variant bârân “rain,” from bâridan “to rain.” The origin of the first component is not clear. Rag in Persian means “blood vein, vessel,” but this sense seems irrelevant here. In Gilaki the bare
râk (without bâr) means cloudburst. Râk/rag
may be related (via an extinct Iranian parent) to the Skt. stem ri- “to flow, to drop, to become liquid.”