Simoom

Part of speech: noun

Pronunciation: /sɪˈmuːm/

Definitions

1. A hot, dry, dust-laden wind that blows across deserts in North Africa and the Middle East, often causing severe damage and health hazards
2. A harsh, dry wind that originates in arid territories, transporting fine particles and leading to extreme weather conditions that endanger health and safety
3. A scorching, dry wind that sweeps through desert regions, carrying dust and potentially causing environmental and health-related issues

Etymology: The name of this hot desert wind is built on a poison. In Arabic, "samūm" means "hot wind," and it comes from "samma," a verb meaning "to poison." The link is easy to picture: a blast of scorching air across the sands seems to drain the life out of anything it touches, so the desert dwellers who named it reached for the language of venom. English borrowed the term from Arabic, and it kept the desert setting intact. The word carries the same sense of a wind that is not merely hot but harmful, which is why the English meaning still mentions dust and health effects. Those ideas had been part of the word's character long before English speakers adopted it.

Synonyms: sandstorm