kamsin

3 definitions found

kamsin - Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 :

  Samiel \Sa"mi*el\ (?; 277), n. [Turk. sam-yeli; Ar. samm poison
     + Turk. yel wind. Cf. Simoom.]
     A hot and destructive wind that sometimes blows, in Turkey,
     from the desert. It is identical with the simoom of Arabia
     and the kamsin of Syria.
     [1913 Webster]

  Sirocco \Si*roc"co\ (s[i^]*r[o^]k"k[-o]), n.; pl. Siroccos
     (s[i^]*r[o^]k"k[=o]z). [It. sirocco, scirocco, Ar. shorug,
     fr. sharq the rising of the sun, the east, fr, sharaca to
     rise as the sun. Cf. Saracen.]
     1. An oppressive, relaxing wind from the Libyan deserts,
        chiefly experienced in Italy, Malta, and Sicily.
        [1913 Webster]
  
     2. In general, any hot dry wind of cyclonic origin, blowing
        from arid or heated regions, including the desert wind of
        Southern California, the harmattan of the west coasts of
        Africa, the hot winds of Kansas and Texas, the kamsin of
        Egypt, the leste of the Madeira Islands, and the
        leveche of Spain.
        [Webster 1913 Suppl.]

  Kamsin \Kam*sin"\, Khamsin \Kham*sin"\, n. [Ar. khams[imac]n,
     fr. khams[=u]n, oblique case khams[imac]n, fifty; -- so
     called because it blows for about fifty days, from April till
     June.]
     A hot southwesterly wind in Egypt, coming from the Sahara.
     [Written also Khamseen.]
     [1913 Webster]