pampero

American  

[pahm-pair-oh, pam-, pahm-pe-raw] / pɑmˈpɛər oʊ, pæm-, pɑmˈpɛ rɔ /

noun

• pamperos
  plural

1. a cold and dry southwesterly wind that sweeps down over the pampas of Argentina from the Andes.

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pampero British  

/ pamˈpero, pæmˈpɛərəʊ /

noun

1. a dry cold wind in South America blowing across the pampas from the south or southwest

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Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• pamperos
  plural

Etymology

Origin of pampero

First recorded in 1810–20; from Latin American Spanish: literally, “of the pampas”

Explanation

A pampero is a type of strong wind, often bringing thunder, lightning, and rain, that frequently blows across the grasslands of Argentina and neighboring countries in South America. The word pampero comes from pampas, the broad grassy plains that cover Uruguay and parts of Argentina, Paraguay, and southern Brazil. Bursts of cold air from Antarctica or from the nearby Andes mountain range sweep across these plains. The winds are often dry, but other times bring wet weather and thunderstorms. Pamperos are most common in the southern hemisphere's winter (roughly May through August), and they can sometimes be destructive, so if you're in the neighborhood when the season starts, make sure all your doors and windows are closed.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

pampero pamperos

The bullet pinked the beast between the eyes, but miraculously he bounded across the deck, roaring like a pampero.

From Time Magazine Archive

If the locusts passed him, it so happened that the pampero wind blew with such terrific force that we have looked in vain even for the straw.

From Through Five Republics on Horseback, Being an Account of Many Wanderings in South America by G. Whitfield Ray

Days followed of pleasant sailing, generally with the pampero blowing, but with a few changes round to the north, when, as they tacked up the river, it was like being in another climate.

From Rob Harlow's Adventures A Story of the Grand Chaco by W. Burton

It is probable that this disturbed weather and high sea were the results of a pampero raging thousands of miles to the southward of us.

From The Cruise of the 'Alerte' The narrative of a search for treasure on the desert island of Trinidad by E. F. (Edward Frederick) Knight

Then dark clouds are seen in the west; the fierce pampero bursts forth with irresistible force; they bend before it, and in a few seconds the whole forest is levelled with the ground.

From The Western World Picturesque Sketches of Nature and Natural History in North and South America by William Henry Giles Kingston

Then, after checks on sandbanks and hindrances from pamperos, Buenos Ayres was touched at, then Monte Video, with its busy port.

From Rob Harlow's Adventures A Story of the Grand Chaco by W. Burton

The anchorage of Montevideo was safe, although several times they were visited by "pamperos," a scourge of the South-West, accompanied by violent tempests.

From Celebrated Travels and Travellers Part 2. The Great Navigators of the Eighteenth Century by Léon Benett

The fierce pamperos render the navigation of this estuary oftentimes precarious.

From Equatorial America Descriptive of a Visit to St. Thomas, Martinique, Barbadoes, and the Principal Capitals of South America by Maturin Murray Ballou

The boisterous south-west winds, extensions of River Plate pamperos, are heralded by clear blue skies.

From The Cruise of the 'Alerte' The narrative of a search for treasure on the desert island of Trinidad by E. F. (Edward Frederick) Knight

The craft on the rivers are, however, often caught in these pamperos, and driven into the bush, or upset, when the swift current carries down the best of swimmers to a watery grave.

From The Western World Picturesque Sketches of Nature and Natural History in North and South America by William Henry Giles Kingston