me|te|or

me|te|or «MEE tee uhr», noun.

1. a mass of stone or metal that enters the earth's atmosphere from outer space with enormous speed; falling star; shooting star. Meteors become so hot from rushing through the air that they glow and often burn up. A trail of hot gas forms in the meteor's wake.

2. Obsolete. any atmospheric phenomenon, such as winds, rain, a rainbow, or lightning: »

In starry flake, and pellicle, All day the hoary meteor [snow] fell (John Greenleaf Whittier).

╂[< Late Latin meteōrum < Greek metéōron (thing) in the air < meta- up + aeírein lift]

meteor.,

meteorology.