trade wind

[wind]

noun

Also trade winds. Also called trades. any of the nearly constant easterly winds that dominate most of the tropics and subtropics throughout the world, blowing mainly from the northeast in the Northern Hemisphere, and from the southeast in the Southern Hemisphere.

any wind that blows in one regular course, or continually in the same direction.

Origin of trade wind

First recorded in 1625–35

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for trade wind

Historical Examples of trade wind

So in this trade-wind weather I see a great deal of Miss West.
The Mutiny of the Elsinore
Jack London
I say, father, can you tell Harry and me all about this trade-wind, which we have got hold of it seems?
A Voyage round the World
W.H.G. Kingston
When a trade-wind is turned out of its course, it is regarded as a monsoon.
The Ocean and its Wonders
R.M. Ballantyne
We sleep on the high ground, and the trade-wind keeps us well.
The Story of John G. Paton
James Paton
In the heart of the trade-wind belts at sea the sky is of a deeper blue.
Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 6, Slice 5
Various

British Dictionary definitions for trade wind

trade wind

noun

a wind blowing obliquely towards the equator either from the northeast in the N hemisphere or the southeast in the S hemisphere, approximately between latitudes 30° N and S, forming part of the planetary wind system

Word Origin for trade wind

C17: from to blow trade to blow steadily in one direction, from trade in the obsolete sense: a track

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