typhoon

Meanings

Noun

• A weather phenomenon in the northwestern Pacific that is precisely equivalent to a hurricane, which results in wind speeds of 64 knots (118 km/h) or above. Equivalent to a cyclone in the Indian Ocean and Indonesia/Australia.

Verb

• To swirl like a hurricane.

Origin

• Its ultimate origin is generally thought to be ("big wind", Mandarin dàfēng, Cantonese daai6 fung1).
• It entered English as early as 1588, perhaps via Portuguese tufão (attested since at least 1560) from Arabic طُوفَان (compare Persian طوفان, Hindi तूफ़ान).
• Within English, its form was influenced by Ancient Greek Τυφῶν ("Typhon, father of the winds"). (Some sources suggest the term originated in Greek and travelled via Arabic to Chinese before making its way back to Europe, but this is implausible.)