khamsin
[ kam-seen, kam-sin ]
/ kæmˈsin, ˈkæm sɪn /
noun
a hot southerly wind, varying from southeast to southwest, that blows regularly in Egypt and over the Red Sea for about 50 days, commencing about the middle of March.
QUIZZES
DISCOVER THE INFLUENCE OF PORTUGUESE ON ENGLISH VIA THIS QUIZ!
We’ve gathered some interesting words donated to English from Portuguese … as well as some that just don’t translate at all. Do you know what they mean?
Question 1 of 11
Which of the following animal names traces its immediate origin to Portuguese?
Origin of khamsin
First recorded in 1675–85, khamsin is from the Arabic word khamsīn literally, fifty
Words nearby khamsin
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2021
Example sentences from the Web for khamsin
British Dictionary definitions for khamsin
khamsin
kamseen or kamsin
/ (ˈkæmsɪn, kæmˈsiːn) /
noun
a hot southerly wind blowing from about March to May, esp in Egypt
Word Origin for khamsin
C17: from Arabic, literally: fifty
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
© William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012