pelter
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pelt 1
(pĕlt)n.
1. The skin of an animal with the fur or hair still on it.
2. A stripped animal skin ready for tanning.
[Middle English, probably from Old French pelete, diminutive of pel, skin, from Latin pellis; see pel- in Indo-European roots.]
pelt 2
(pĕlt)v. pelt·ed, pelt·ing, pelts
v.tr.
1.
a. To strike or assail repeatedly with thrown objects: pelted each other with snowballs. See Synonyms at barrage2.
b. Archaic To strike (someone) with blows, as with a club.
2. To hurl or throw (missiles): children who pelted stones at the neighbors' windows.
3. To fall upon; strike repeatedly: Hailstones pelted the tent.
v.intr.
1. To fall heavily or abundantly; beat: The rain pelted down all day.
2. To move at a vigorous gait: "A rider on a lathered horse came pelting down the Orange Plank Road" (Stephen W. Sears).
[Middle English pelten, variant of pilten, perhaps ultimately from Latin pultāre, to beat, variant of pulsāre, frequentative of pellere, to strike; see pel- in Indo-European roots.]
pelt′er n.
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
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| Noun | 1. |  pelter - a heavy rain |
| 2. | pelter - a thrower of missiles; "the police were too busy to chase the pelters" thrower - someone who projects something (especially by a rapid motion of the arm) |
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