ਤ੍ਰੇਲ

What does trel mean in Punjabi? Trel (ਤ੍ਰੇਲ) means dew: the small drops of water that form at night on grass, leaves and other surfaces open to the sky, and glitter on them in the early morning. Britannica defines dew in the same terms, as a deposit of waterdrops formed at night by the condensation of water vapour from the air onto exposed surfaces.

What does trel mean in Punjabi?

In everyday Punjabi, trel belongs to the morning. A farmer crossing the fields at dawn comes back with wet shoes because the grass is covered in trel, and children are told the sparkling drops on the leaves will be gone as soon as the sun climbs. Unlike rain, trel does not fall from the sky: it forms in place, on the surface itself, which is why a field can be wet at sunrise even when no rain came in the night.

How does trel form?

Britannica explains that dew forms on clear nights when the air is calm or the wind is light. Freely exposed surfaces lose heat to the sky by radiation and cool down, and grass blades, leaves and petals usually end up colder than the air around them. The cold surface cools the air touching it, and if that air holds enough moisture it drops below its dew point, so water vapour condenses out of it onto the surface as drops. If the surface is below freezing point, the deposit takes the shape of frost instead.

Is trel the only Punjabi form for dew?

Wiktionary's translation list gives two Punjabi forms for dew, both feminine: ਤ੍ਰੇਲ, trel, and ਤਰੇਲ, tarel. The first is the form this page uses, and the second is heard as a close variant in speech. Either way the picture the word paints is the same: a quiet night, cold grass, and a field shining with drops at first light, the gentle opposite of the harsh summer looh.