mistral

¹ American  

[mis-truhl, mi-strahl] / ˈmɪs trəl, mɪˈstrɑl /

noun

1. a cold, dry, northerly wind common in southern France and neighboring regions.

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Mistral ² American  

[mee-stral, mees-trahl] / miˈstral, misˈtrɑl /

noun

1. Frédéric 1830–1914, French Provençal poet: Nobel Prize 1904.

2. Gabriela Lucila Godoy Alcayaga, 1889–1957, Chilean poet and educator: Nobel Prize in literature 1945.

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Mistral ¹ British  

noun

1. Frédéric (frederik). 1830–1914, French Provençal poet, who led a movement to revive Provençal language and literature: shared the Nobel prize for literature 1904

2. Gabriela (ɡaˈβrjela), pen name of Lucila Godoy de Alcayaga. 1889–1957, Chilean poet, educationalist, and diplomatist. Her poetry includes the collection Desolación (1922): Nobel prize for literature 1945

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mistral ² British  

/ mɪˈstrɑːl, ˈmɪstrəl /

noun

1. a strong cold dry wind that blows through the Rhône valley and S France to the Mediterranean coast, mainly in the winter

2. the class of board used in international windsurfing competitions, weighing 15kg and measuring 372cm × 64cm

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Etymology

Origin of mistral

1595–1605; < Middle French < Provençal; Old Provençal maistral < Latin magistrālis magistral

Example Sentences

He reminds us that two notorious winds, the mistral and the bora, have been known to drive men mad.

From The Wall Street Journal

“It’s time to acknowledge that mistral hygiene products are not luxury items but essential necessities for the health and liberty of individuals,” Mote said.

From Seattle Times

The cavern opens to the north, where a cold and powerful wind known as the mistral breathes dust under the rock shelter.

From New York Times

That is a sign of which way the mistral is blowing.

From New York Times

Or the mistral will blow from somewhere between north-west and east and all hell will break loose late on as the bunch splinters in the wind.

From The Guardian

Related Words

• cyclone
• hurricane
• monsoon
• squall
• tornado
• wind
• windstorm