Definitions
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
- adj. Occurring annually. Used of the prevailing northerly summer winds of the Mediterranean.
Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia
- Recurring every year; occurring at stated times of the year; periodical. The term was especially applied by Greek and Roman writers to the winds which blow from the north during the summer months, with great regularity and accompanied by a clear sky, over the Mediterranean, especially in its eastern portion. The etesian wind is the trade-wind abnormally prolonged toward the north by the peculiar climatic influences of the Sahara.
Wiktionary
- adj. Pertaining to a dry north wind which blows in the eastern Mediterranean.
- n. A dry north wind which blows in the eastern Mediterranean.
GNU Webster's 1913
- adj. Periodical; annual; -- applied to winds which annually blow from the north over the Mediterranean, esp. the eastern part, for an irregular period during July and August.
Etymologies
- From Latin etesius ("annual"), from Ancient Greek ἐτήσιος (etēsios, "annual"), from ἔτος (etos, "year"). (Wiktionary)
- From Latin etēsius, from Greek etēsios, from etos, year; see wet-2 in Indo-European roots. (American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition)
Examples
“The vicinity of sea and lake had advantages also in the way of health: for in the summer the etesian winds set in from the north, and the lake, instead of stagnating, was kept full and sweet by the rise of the”
“The etesian winds made it impossible to bring up reënforcements, and Cæsar's force was very small.”
A Friend of Caesar A Tale of the Fall of the Roman Republic. Time, 50-47 B.C.
“The etesian winds, too, had set in, which made it difficult for his heavy vessels to work out of the harbor.”
“caes. civ.3.107": [3.107] Having observed this, he ordered other legions to be brought to him from Asia, which he had made up out of Pompey's soldiers; for he was himself detained against his will, by the etesian winds, which are totally unfavorable to persons on a voyage from Alexandria.”
Lists
These user-created lists contain the word ‘etesian’.
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wind names
yet another list like this.
abroholos, alizé, amihan, habagat, barguzin wind, bayamo, bergwind, bise, bora, brickfielder, brisa, brisote and 93 more...
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phrontistery - e
from phrontistery.info
ephod, epact, eozoic, eonism, ensiform, ensanguine, enoptromancy, enounce, enosimania, ennomic, enneagon, eolith and 616 more...
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A Sequel to 250 Spelling Words
Words to quiz the intermediate and advanced speller alike
sinopia, replevin, lathee, hoisin, kerygma, czardas, amoxicillin, talipes, simoleon, hypermnesia, anodyne, mystique and 238 more...
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Logolepsy
"Luciferous Logolepsy is a collection of over 9,000 obscure English words. Though the definition of an 'English' word might seem to be straightforward, it is not. There exist so many adopted, deriv...
Anschauung, Areopagus, Argus, Briarean, Dei gratia, Dei judicium, Deo volente, Duecento, Foehn, Geflugelte Worte, Gegenschein, Hakenkreuz and 9230 more...
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Aeolus's Vocabulary
Words concerning or relating to wind, air, sky, or heavens! Anything concerning Aeolus (King of the Winds) will be collected here.
aeromancy, zephyr, favonius, boreas, ether, etesian, empyrean, wind, breeze, gust, cyclone, nor'easter and 18 more...
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Unusual words for Words With Friends
A list of words that WWF recognizes as valid - most are unusual words; some are simply high-scoring.
botel, slipe, jeu, chub, chubs, cote, mure, tittle, dev, loo, hoke, helo and 357 more...
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Vega's Logophile Dictionary
Words I've heard/read in use, words being learnt, words that I want to eventually use in everyday language, words that are high-brow and elitist and scholarly and obscure, words that display the wo...
parsimonious, torpor, recalcitrant, plebeian, vitriol, gumption, augur, aestival, celerity, diaphanous, farrago, nonpareil and 287 more...
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winds of the world
local wind names
chinook, foehn, gallego, sirocco, harmattan, fremantle doctor, tramontane, mistral, santa ana, diablo, descuernacabras, dust devil and 119 more...
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NTDW1
template, modal, sublingual, tandem, polycentric, septuagenarian, token, irrevocable, denotive, augural, aberrant, phlebotomy and 1188 more...
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Just 'cause I like 'em, E
excoriate, exoskeleton, enclave, endemic, erstwhile, entwine, elliptical, élan, earflaps, earlobe, earthen, earthenware and 238 more...
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When I'm Feeling Windy
wiiiiiiiind
sirocco, zephyr, fiat, tramontana, typhoon, cyclone, hurricane, haboob, khamsin, aajej, africo, alm and 125 more...
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lotic words of flow
fast flowing, rapid, confluent words
boustrophedon, boustrophedric, thixotrophic, ludic, hesychastic, blend, quaquaversal, phacoemulsification, mordant, glissando, vatic, tournure and 233 more...
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today's word
copemate, quiddity, ere, maugre, argal, cultivar, exurb, spokesmodel, rollick, logy, cadastral, corpulent and 259 more...
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rememberers
prolix, ageusia, animadversion, anodyne, antic, arabesque, beadle, brachymetropia, colophon, desquamation, diaphoresis, diegesis and 3251 more...
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SCRABBLE - Satine, 6-letter stems
The only letters without a "satine" bingo possibility: J, Q, Y
zeatins, zaniest, sextain, antisex, waniest, tawnies, vainest, natives, naivest, sinuate, aunties, satinet and 55 more...
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Various
inselberg, excoriate, counterveil, palliate, exorable, wieldy, evitable, pseudandry, maritorious, patrocliny, liminal, span-new and 24 more...
Tweets
Looking for tweets for etesian.

reesetee Etymology according to A.W.A.D.: "The word refers to the annual summer winds of the Mediterranean. It's derived from Latin etesius, from Greek etesios, from etos (year). Ultimately from the Indo-European root wet- (year) that is also the source of such words as veteran, veal (in the sense of yearling), and veterinary (relating to the beasts of burden, perhaps alluding to old cattle), inveterate, wether, and bellwether." Jan 8, 2009
fbharjo etesian a periodic, seasonal word Jan 16, 2007