relative wind

American  

[wind] / wɪnd /

noun

1. the velocity or direction of airflow with respect to the body it surrounds, especially an airfoil.

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Etymology

Origin of relative wind

First recorded in 1915–20

Example Sentences

"The identified trends between the measured total damping and wind speed for different relative wind directions indicate that the amplitude of the lateral building motion, rather than aerodynamic wind characteristics, primarily influence the observed variation in the modal damping."

From Science Daily

“Angle of attack,” as Travis defines, refers to the angle between the wing and the relative wind blowing over it.

From Salon

My senses were overwhelmed by the relative wind at terminal velocity, a feeling not of falling but of flying.

From Time

And while they presumably throw with as much speed as they can, they can increase the discus's relative wind speed by throwing it into the wind as much as possible.

From Reuters

Everyone will readily realize that when walking at the rate of four to eight miles an hour in a dead calm the "relative wind" is quite inappreciable to the senses and that such a rising air would not be noticed. 2nd.—That the buzzard, sailing in an apparently dead horizontal calm, progressed at speeds of fifteen to eighteen miles per hour, as measured by his shadow on the ground.

From Project Gutenberg