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spindrift

[spin-drift]
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noun
  1. spray swept by a violent wind along the surface of the sea.
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Also spoondrift.

Origin of spindrift

1590–1600; variant of Scots speendrift spoondrift
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Related Words

aerosolsprinklerswellwavescumfoamfrothsplashfogmoisturedrizzledusterspindriftatomizervaporizereffervescenceheadyeastscudspray

Examples from the Web for spindrift

Historical Examples

  • And the spindrift struck me in the eyes like hands full of sand.

    Gilian The Dreamer

    Neil Munro

  • Gregg and Joan were blown away by the sound like spindrift before the wind.

    The Premiere

    Richard Sabia

  • He dropped Scotty at the landing, then turned the launch back to Spindrift.

    Smugglers' Reef

    John Blaine

  • Rick hung up the phone in the Spindrift library and turned to Scotty.

    Smugglers' Reef

    John Blaine

  • And Jan's presence was a part of the big secret of Spindrift.

British Dictionary definitions for spindrift

spindrift

noun
  1. spray blown up from the surface of the sea
  2. powdery snow blown off a mountain
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Nontechnical name: spoondrift

Word Origin

C17: of Scottish origin, possibly from a variant of obsolete spoon to scud + drift
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

Word Origin and History for spindrift

n.

c.1600, Scottish formation from verb spene, alteration of spoon "to sail before the wind" (1570s, of uncertain origin) + drift. "Common in English writers from c 1880, probably at first under the influence of W. Black's novels" [OED].

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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper