Refers to a temporary pause or letup, especially in rain or other continuous phenomena. Often used in the phrase 小止みなく (without a break). The reading おやみ is less common.
The rain let up for a while.
The snow keeps falling without a break.
Standard kanji spelling for the reading こやみ.
Search-only kanji form; not a standard spelling.
Kana spelling is common when the kanji is not needed.
Compound of 小 (ko, 'small') and 止み (yami, 'stopping'), literally 'small stop'. The reading おやみ is a variant, possibly from an older or dialectal form.