drizzle
n. C / Un. light rain that falls in very small, fine drops. It is not a heavy storm, but it can still make everything wet and gray.
n. light rain falling in very fine drops, typically less than 0.5 mm in diameter. Often associated with low-level clouds and reduced visibility.
A light drizzle started just as we left the house.
The morning began with a steady drizzle that made the mountain roads slippery and dangerous for cyclists.
While the forecast predicted a heavy downpour, we experienced only a persistent drizzle that clung to the windshield without ever turning into a proper storm.
Perhaps a back-formation from dryseling, a dissimilated variant of Middle English drysning (“a falling of dew”), from Old English drysnan (“to extinguish”), related to Old English drēosan (“to fall, to decline”), making it cognate to modern English droze and drowse. Compare also dialectal Swedish drösla.
Uncountable when referring to the weather phenomenon in general; countable when referring to a specific instance or period of rain.