typhoon
Definition from Wiktionary, the free dictionary
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[edit] English
[edit] Etymology
Probably ultimately of Sinitic origin, Mandarin 大风 (dàfēng, “big wind”), Cantonese 大風 (daai6 fung1, “big wind”), via Arabic طوفان (ṭūfān), Hindi तूफ़ान (tūfān), and Persian طوفان (tufân). Given the location of typhoons as a Pacific Ocean phenomena, it is more likely it began east and moved west. Ancient Greek Τυφῶν (Tuphōn, “Typhon, father of the winds”) is unrelated but has secondarily contaminated the word.
[edit] Pronunciation
[edit] Noun
typhoon (plural typhoons)
- A weather phenomenon in the Eastern Pacific that is precisely equivalent to a hurricane, which results in wind speeds of 64 knots (118km/h) or above. Equivalent to a cyclone in the Indian Ocean and Indonesia/Australia.
[edit] Derived terms
[edit] Translations
hurricane in the Pacific
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