FOEHN

fohn, foehn

(noun) a warm dry wind that blows down the northern slopes of the Alps

Source: WordNet® 3.1


Etymology

Noun

foehn (plural foehns)

A warm dry wind blowing down the north sides of the Alps, especially in Switzerland.

(meteorology) A similar katabatic wind developing on the lee side of a mountain.

Anagrams

• hefon

Source: Wiktionary


Foehn, n. [G. dial. (Swiss), fr. L. Favonius west wind. Cf. Favonian.] (Meteor.) (a) A warm dry wind that often blows in the northern valleys of the Alps, due to the indraught of a storm center passing over Central Europe. The wind, heated by compression in its descent from the mountains, reaches the base, particularly in winter, dry and warm. (b) Any similar wind, as the chinook, in other parts of the world.

Source: Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary 1913 Edition



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Word of the Day

22 February 2025

ANALYSIS

(noun) the use of closed-class words instead of inflections: e.g., ‘the father of the bride’ instead of ‘the bride’s father’


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Coffee Trivia

The Boston Tea Party helped popularize coffee in America. The hefty tea tax imposed on the colonies in 1773 resulted in America switching from tea to coffee. In the lead up to the Revolutionary War, it became patriotic to sip java instead of tea. The Civil War made the drink more pervasive. Coffee helped energize tired troops, and drinking it became an expression of freedom.

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