etesian

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Related to Etesians: meltemi wind

e·te·sian

(ĭ-tē′zhən)

adj.

Occurring annually. Used of the prevailing northerly summer winds of the Mediterranean.

[From Latin etēsius, from Greek etēsios, from etos, year; see wet- in Indo-European roots.]

e·te′sian n.

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

etesian

(ɪˈtiːʒɪən)

adj

(Physical Geography) (of NW winds) recurring annually in the summer in the E Mediterranean

[C17: from Latin etēsius yearly, from Greek etēsios, from etos year]

Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014

e•te•sian

(ɪˈti ʒən)

adj.

1. (of certain Mediterranean winds) occurring annually.

2. an etesian wind.

[1595–1605; < Latin etēsi(ae) < Greek etēsíai (ánemoi) periodic (winds) + -an¹]

Translations

étésien

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References in classic literature ?

Some have such a vast appetite for the former commodity, that is, the news, and such sound digestive organs, that they can sit forever in public avenues without stirring, and let it simmer and whisper through them like the Etesian winds, or as if inhaling ether, it only producing numbness and insensibility to pain -- otherwise it would often be painful to bear -- without affecting the consciousness.

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The Greek and Latin historians do not speak favourably of it, and Strabo says it is very dangerous during the Etesian winds and in the rainy season.

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So when Etesian blasts from Thrace downpour Sweep o'er the blackening main and whirl to land From Ocean's cavernous depths his ooze and sand, Billow on billow thunders on the shore.