sirocco
[ suh-rok-oh ]
/ səˈrɒk oʊ /
noun, plural si·roc·cos.
a hot, dry, dustladen wind blowing from northern Africa and affecting parts of southern Europe.
a warm, sultry south or southeast wind accompanied by rain, occurring in the same regions.
any hot, oppressive wind, especially one in the warm sector of a cyclone.
Also scirocco.
Origin of sirocco
1610–20; < Italian, variant of scirocco < Arabic sharq east
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Examples from the Web for sirocco
British Dictionary definitions for sirocco
sirocco
/ (sɪˈrɒkəʊ) /
noun plural -cos
a hot oppressive and often dusty wind usually occurring in spring, beginning in N Africa and reaching S Europe
any hot southerly wind, esp one moving to a low pressure centre
Word Origin for sirocco
C17: from Italian, from Arabic sharq east wind
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
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Word Origin and History for sirocco
sirocco
"hot wind blowing from the Libyan deserts," 1610s, from Italian sirocco, from vulgar Arabic shoruq "the east wind," from Arabic sharqi "eastern, east wind," from sharq "east," from sharaqa "to rise" (in reference to the sun).
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper