monsoon
English edit
Etymology edit
From Portuguese monção and Dutch moesson, from Arabic مَوْسِم (mawsim, “season”), from وَسَمَ (wasama, “to mark, to brand”). [1][2]
Pronunciation edit
- (Received Pronunciation) IPA(key): /mɒnˈsuːn/
- (General American) IPA(key): /mɑnˈsuːn/
Audio (US) (file) - Rhymes: -uːn
Noun edit
monsoon (plural monsoons)
- Any of a number of winds associated with regions where most rain falls during a particular season.
- Tropical rainy season when the rain lasts for several months with few interruptions.
- 2013 June 29, “High and wet”, in The Economist, volume 407, number 8842, page 28:
- Floods in northern India, mostly in the small state of Uttarakhand, have wrought disaster on an enormous scale. The early, intense onset of the monsoon on June 14th swelled rivers, washing away roads, bridges, hotels and even whole villages. Rock-filled torrents smashed vehicles and homes, burying victims under rubble and sludge.
- The rains themselves.
- Entire meteorological systems with such characteristics.
Derived terms edit
Descendants edit
Translations edit
wind
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tropical rainy season — see also monsoon season
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rain
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meteorological system
References edit
- ^ The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition. 2000 Houghton Mifflin
- ^ A Dictionary of Urdu, classical Hindi, and English Platts.