chmura/y vs obłok(i)

Mufasa 19 | 357

3 Dec 2011 / #1

Are these chmura/y and obłok(i) just synonyms for clouds, or are there specific contexts in which you would rather use the one than the other?

peter_olsztyn 6 | 1082

3 Dec 2011 / #2

obłok

sailing across the sky or painting and is white, beautiful

chmura

is rather dark, stormy can be radioactive or composed of dust

a.k.

3 Dec 2011 / #3

obłok is more poetic. it stems from obły which means rounded. so when someone say obłok people visualize a small or single round cloud.

chumra is a general word for clouds, it's more neutral and applies to every cloud

OP Mufasa 19 | 357

4 Dec 2011 / #4

Dziękuję :)

boletus 30 | 1356

4 Dec 2011 / #5

sailing across the sky or painting and is white, beautiful

I just suddenly had this association: See how the word "obłoki" is used in this "Krywań" poem by Kazimierz Przerwa-Tetmajer.

As a premium you can listen to a song "Krywaniu" performed by the highlander's band "Goranie"
youtube.com/watch?v=ISywjwziL50

This is a highlanders' melody, anonymous I think (Polish, Slovak?), made quite popular in Poland by "Skaldowie" Group in 1960s.

Hej Krywaniu, Krywaniu wysoki,
Lecą płyną nad Tobą obłoki,
Tak się tocy moja myśl,
Jak one, myśli moje
Myśli niespełnione.

Hej Krywaniu, Krywaniu wysoki,
Lecą płyną nad tobą obłoki.
Tak sie leją moje łzy,
Jak one, hej łzy moje
łzy nie zapłacone.

Hej Krywaniu, Krywaniu wysoki,
Idzie od cie snur lasów głęboki.
A mojemu idzie zol, kochaniu,
Hej Krywaniu wysoki
Krywaniu.

gumishu 15 | 6164

5 Dec 2011 / #6

it stems from obły which means rounded.

heh - this is called 'folk etymology' I think - I would rather tend to think 'obłok' comes from a verb 'oblekać' meaning more or less to wrap up or wrap around