williwaw

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The parting of a staysail-sheet in a williwaw, when the sea was turbulent and she was plunging into the storm, brought me forward to see instantly a dark cliff ahead and breakers so close under the bows that I felt surely lost, and in my thoughts cried, "Is the hand of fate against me, after all, leading me in the end to this dark spot?"

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Definitions (3)

Toggle American Heritage definitions American Heritage Dictionary (2)

  1. noun A violent gust of cold wind blowing seaward from a mountainous coast, especially in the Straits of Magellan.
  2. noun A sudden gust of wind; a squall.

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Examples (12)

  • The parting of a staysail-sheet in a williwaw, when the sea was turbulent and she was plunging into the storm, brought me forward to see instantly a dark cliff ahead and breakers so close under the bows that I felt surely lost, and in my thoughts cried, "Is the hand of fate against me, after all, leading me in the end to this dark spot?" —  Sailing Alone Around the World
  • "Right as a trivet! but -- have you ever heard of a williwaw, Peggy?" —  The Merryweathers
  • "Wi 'a dozen more strokes we'll be cl'ar o' them -- out o 'the track o' the williwaw, too." —  The Land of Fire A Tale of Adventure
  • The "williwaw," sometimes called the "wooley," is one of the great terrors of Fuegian inland waters. —  The Land of Fire A Tale of Adventure
  • On the afternoon of the tenth day on the island the sky clouded up and Mr. Gibney predicted a williwaw. —  Captain Scraggs or, The Green-Pea Pirates
 

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/ˈwɪlɪwɔ/
by American Heritage

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