Monsoons

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. Seasonal winds that bring heavy rainfall, especially in tropical regions
2. Distinct periods characterized by intense rainfall and shifting wind patterns, common in certain climates
3. Seasonal climatic conditions marked by high humidity and significant precipitation, often impacting agriculture and water resources

Etymology: The surprising thing about "monsoon" is that its root meant "mark" before it ever meant rain. The Arabic "mawsim" means "season," and it comes from the verb "wasama," "to mark, to brand." A season, in other words, was originally a marked or appointed time, the period set apart for a particular kind of activity. Arab sailors in the Indian Ocean used the word for the seasonal winds that reversed direction with the year, blowing one way for half the year and the opposite way for the rest. Those winds made long-distance trade possible, since ships could sail out with one wind and return with the other. Portuguese traders picked up the term as "monção," and Dutch sailors adopted it as "moesson," and English borrowed it from these European languages. Over time the sense narrowed from the wind itself to the heavy rains that the winds bring to South Asia. The plural "monsoons" refers to these recurring seasons of wind and rain, though the word has since spread to any similar seasonal wind system elsewhere in the world.