Definitions
Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia
- n. The north wind: commonly so called in the Mediterranean. The name is also given to a peculiar cold and blighting wind, very hurtful in the Archipelago.
Wiktionary
- n. A dry, cold north wind in Italy and adjacent Mediterranean areas.
GNU Webster's 1913
- n. (Meteor.) A dry, cold, violent, northerly wind of the Adriatic.
WordNet 3.0
- n. a cold dry wind that blows south out of the mountains into Italy and the western Mediterranean
Etymologies
- Italian tramontana (Wiktionary)
Examples
“The two pulsated and flared in the Santa Ana winds that must be something like the hot tramontana land wind of Spain that Gabriel Garcia Marquez says "carries with it the seeds of madness.”
“The tramontana, that keen wind which blows from over the snow mountains, was sweeping down the narrow streets, searching out every nook and corner with its icy breath.”
“In a doorway of a great house, in one of the narrow streets, a little boy of eight was crouching behind one of the stone pillars as he tried to keep out of the grip of the tramontana.”
“When the tramontana blew, he was comfortable enough.”
The Life and Genius of Nathaniel Hawthorne
“But the climate of Rome was considered by Dr Gresonowsky more suitable for winter, and towards the close of November they took their departure, flying from the Florentine tramontana.”
Robert Browning
“For one thing the hill was swathed in mists, it rained at intervals, a kind of bitter _tramontana_ was blowing.”
“So we have been dragging in by inches our chairs and tables throughout the summer, and by no means look finished and furnished at this late moment, the slow Italians coming at the heels of our slowest intentions with the putting up of our curtains, which begin to be necessary in this November tramontana.”
The Letters of Elizabeth Barrett Browning
“Probably a sudden call from the tramontana brought it; even frost we had.”
The Letters of Elizabeth Barrett Browning
“But we spend the winter in Rome, because the great guns of the revolution (and even the small daggers) will be safer to encounter than any sort of tramontana.”
The Letters of Elizabeth Barrett Browning
“I, for instance, have been kept in the house for a fortnight or more (till Christmas Day, when I was able to get to St. Peter's) by tramontana; but there has been sun on most days of cold, and nothing has been severe as cold.”
The Letters of Elizabeth Barrett Browning
Lists
These user-created lists contain the word ‘tramontana’.
-
When I'm Feeling Windy
wiiiiiiiind
sirocco, zephyr, fiat, tramontana, typhoon, cyclone, hurricane, haboob, khamsin, aajej, africo, alm and 125 more...
-
Just 'cause I like 'em, T
torquate, thalassocracy, toothsome, travois, tempestuous, tone, tincture, tripwire, tether, trill, tenacious, travesty and 355 more...
-
Master and Commander
An Aubrey/Maturin list.
God help me.
I blame chained_bear.prize-agent, master and commander, trabacaloes, xebecs, hipped, truckling, Bakewell tart, Eccles cake, suet pudding, slop-ship, copperplate, tramontana and 57 more...
-
boxing the compass
Names of winds, especially exotic, traditional and "non-English" names.
zephyr, simoom, tramontana, mistral, typhoon, maelstrom, gale, hurricane, chinook, monsoon, tradewind, doldrums and 14 more...
-
the Collected Poems of W.H. Auden
being words used by dear Wystan, who had a far better vocabulary than I.
levin, gangrel, quiddity, palaver, palliardising, oppidan, phut, pococurante, epithalamium, teratoid, tautological, enantiomorph and 72 more...
-
melis$@'s Words
Tweets
Looking for tweets for tramontana.
fbharjo Is it in far western Montana or near eastern Idaho ( ex-tra Montana)?
*noted it isn't called trans-Montana, (as in mountain passes) in passing* Jan 26, 2011
fbharjo Bering Strait (straight) to Corsica, of(f) course Jan 26, 2011
ruzuzu Hey! I just added that comment yesterday--now tramontana just showed up in Master and Commander. That's iroqouisy. Jan 26, 2011
ruzuzu "The north wind: commonly so called in the Mediterranean. The name is also given to a peculiar cold and blighting wind, very hurtful in the Archipelago."
--Century Dictionary Jan 25, 2011
Prolagus Perdere la tramontana (To lose one's tramontana), in Italian, means "to lose one's bearings". Dec 26, 2008