Password: Pluviophile

Secret handshakes optional, raincoats encouraged.

My coworker and BFF announced on Zoom this morning, “I’m a pluviophile.”The word pluviophile rolled out of her mouth like a secret society password. I half expected a thunderclap and a butler to appear with an umbrella.

For a split second, I thought she was confessing to something that required a discreet registry. But no — it simply means someone who loves rainy days. Which, honestly, is far more appealing than most secret societies.

That’s me, too.

Whenever it rains, my husband and I head out onto the porch like a pair of seasoned weather enthusiasts. We settle into our chairs, listening to the raindrops drum on the roof, breathing in that earthy scent the air only gets after a good soaking. I swear the plants in the yard audibly sigh with relief, their leaves drinking it in like guests at an open bar. Sometimes the wind picks up and gives us a little shower, too. We don’t mind. It feels like being let in on nature’s private concert.

I’d never heard the term pluviophile, so naturally I spent an hour researching it when I should have been answering emails. Some people do Wordle; I chase etymology down rabbit holes.

The word is surprisingly modern—first recorded in the early 1990s. It fuses the Latin pluvia (rain) with the Greek philos (loving). Linguistic purists dislike this kind of mix-and-match and would prefer “ombrophile,” which sounds like a creature that lurks under a damp bridge and files quarterly taxes. But “pluviophile” has the better melody, and language, like rain, often rewards what feels good.

There’s a list of historical figures who might have been honorary pluviophiles—Wordsworth, Keats, the usual literary suspects—but I’m more interested in how rain shows up in the movies and music that have soaked into our collective memory. Gene Kelly turned puddles into a dance partner in Singin’ in the Rain. Andy Dufresne raised his arms to the heavens for a glorious downpour after escaping Shawshank. The Cascades let the “Rhythm of the Rain” tap out a love song, Blue October went “Dancing in the Rain,” and Rihanna made umbrellas iconic. Rain has been a backdrop for everything from heartbreak to euphoria, usually while someone’s hair remains improbably perfect.

But no matter how many poets, singers, or prison escapees share this affection for a good shower, it’s the personal moments that count most. I hope my BFF and I can sit together one day soon, mugs in hand, watching the rain roll in like fellow members of an unspoken club. Password not required.

"Just Singin' and Dancin' in the Rain"