levanter

American

[li-van-ter] / lɪˈvæn tər /

noun

a strong easterly wind in the Mediterranean.

levanter ¹ British

/ lɪˈvæntə /

noun

an easterly wind in the W Mediterranean area, esp in the late summer
an inhabitant of the Levant

"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

levanter ² British

/ lɪˈvæntə /

noun

a person who bolts or absconds

"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

Etymology

Origin of levanter

First recorded in 1620–30; Levant + -er ¹

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

The levanter was still getting stronger, and he felt its force on his face.

From Literature

A royal martyr is a much more impressive object than a royal levanter.

From Project Gutenberg

Near the small island of Alberaw we fell in with two frigates convoying twenty sail of levanters, the commodore of which called me brother-in-law.

From Project Gutenberg

A gentle levanter was wafting them through the Archipelago.

From Project Gutenberg

Such, in its greatest simplicity, is the procedure which, as will be seen, has provoked a very levanter of ire and vilification.

From Project Gutenberg

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023