waterspout

　メキシコで、雨の日に空から魚が降ってきたという変わった現象についての記事からです。
Fish fall from sky with rain in northern Mexico

Civil defense officials in northeast Mexico say a light rain was accompanied by small fish that fell from the sky.

Tamaulipas civil defense says in a brief statement that rain Tuesday in the coastal city of Tampico included fish. Photos posted on the agency's Facebook page show four small fish in a bag and another on a sidewalk.

According the U.S. Library of Congress, it's a phenomenon that has been reported since ancient times. Scientists believe that tornadoes over water — known as waterspouts — could be responsible for sucking fish into the air where they are blown around until being released to the ground.

http://abcnews.go.com/Weird/wireStory/fish-fall-sky-rain-northern-mexico-50150068?cid=clicksource_4380645_5_heads_posts_headlines_hed

　取り上げる単語は"waterspout"です。"water"と付いており、さらに文脈的に考えても、「水」に関する言葉であることが分かります。『ジーニアス英和辞典』第４版（大修館）で確認してみると、「水上の竜巻」や「排水口、雨どい」、「（突然の）豪雨、土砂降り」という意味がありました。因みに"spout"には、「吹き出す、噴出する、ほとばしり出る」や「べらべらしゃべる」という意味があるため、勢いのある様子が表現されているかと思います。LDOCEでは、"a tall stream of water that the wind pulls up from the sea during a violent storm"や"a pipe that carries water"と定義されていました。(Akim)