Definitions

from The Century Dictionary.

  • noun The north wind.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

  • noun obsolete The north wind.

Etymologies

Sorry, no etymologies found.

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Examples

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Comments

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  • The north wind, as the Century tells us. But can I get away with using in a modern translation of Baratynsky? In his day, it was part of the stock of classical poetic expressions for the various winds. But while others of these, like zephyr have survived in English, the aquilon, it seems, blows no longer in our language.

    September 7, 2011

  • aquilone, in Italian, means "kite".

    September 7, 2011

  • Interesting, Pro.

    September 7, 2011

  • I'd probably use it, rol.

    September 7, 2011

  • Bil, had you heard of this word before as the name of the north wind? Ever come across it in your reading? It is difficult for me to do any searches on Google Books because so many boats and other things are name Aquilon. That in itself is a sign that the word is known, but I haven't been able to find any relevant uses of the word in English.

    September 7, 2011

  • My compact OED has it as "Obs." and tells us it is the "north or north-north-east wind." The examples are from Chaucer and Shakespeare. I need to find my magnifying glass to figure out more, but I think the Shakespeare is from Troilus and Cressida.

    September 7, 2011

  • It might also show up as "aquiloun."

    September 7, 2011

  • Oh, and its use in Chaucer seems to come from his translation of Boethius.

    September 7, 2011

  • I haven't come across it before except as the name of a racehorse :-/

    But if it's obsolete, even better still obscure, I still feel it's useable (at least in the style of translation that appeals to me). I suppose the Baz Luhrman translation wouldn't use it.

    September 7, 2011

  • I'd vote to use it, too (even though I now have that "Aqualung" song stuck in my head).

    September 7, 2011

  • Well, how does this sound to you guys? Is it comprehensible? The poet is addressing a waterfall -- in the previous stanza he has been admiring the great roar it makes, and now he says:

    I hear the whistling aquilon –

    it rocks the spruce tree till it’s groaning;

    and with the weather, wild and roaring,

    your own defiant roar’s in tune.

    The Russian is:

    Я слышу: свищет аквилон,

    Качает елию скрыпучей,

    И с непогодою ревучей

    Твой рев мятежный соглашен.

    September 7, 2011

  • I've never studied Russian, but I like what you have there.

    September 7, 2011

  • Thanks, Ru!

    September 7, 2011

  • Thank you--that was fun!

    September 7, 2011

  • I think it's understandable from the context as a wind, rather than say a bird or anything else. Which is why it's fine.

    A codpiece for your thoughts, ruzuzu.

    September 8, 2011

  • L. aqui`lōnis is the genitive case of `aquilō. The latter means 1. north wind or north-one-third east wind; 2. (metonymy): the north; 3. (mythology, Aquilo) the husband of Orithyia and father of Calais and Zetes.

    L. `aquila = an eagle. Aquila is the epithet for the genus to which 18 species of eagles belong.

    In addition, aquila is the name of a bright constellation lying in the Milky Way between Cygnus and Sagittarius, spanning the celestial equator, traditionally said to represent the eagle of Zeus; the Eagle (Oxford English Dictionary).

    See aquila and aquiline.

    September 8, 2011

  • aquilos adds to the darkness of meaning here that is worthy and competent

    September 8, 2011

  • Are you sure, bilby--a whole codpiece? For that I'll throw in everything, but I won't be able to give you any refunds or make change. Okay. First, I've been trying to find my copies of the Consolation of Philosophy to see how they treated it, but all I can find are my endless copies of Piers Plowman and The Romance of the Rose. I did find a copy of Chaucer's famous prologue where Zephyr gets a capital Z and an explanatory footnote. Second, I think that aquilo is the spelling they're using over on Wikipedia's "Classical compass winds" page. Third, I wonder what Vitruvius would think (check out the example about how trees should be cut only when there is a north wind). Fourth, in one of my other books I found a old poem called "Blow, Northern Wind" which doesn't mention our word at all, but does have lots of thorns and heos in it--which is funny for me because yesterday I encountered a food truck which sells bánh mì and goes by the name Heoya (pronounced "hell yeah"). Uh, fifth, I'd been wondering about the aquila/aguila/aqua thing. Is it possible for the reader to get confused and assume that "aquilon" just has something to do with water? Sixth, the constellation Aquila has a star which is part of one of my favorite asterisms--the summer tringle (I used to imagine that three of the freckles under my left eye were Vega, Deneb, and Altair). I think Aquila is also name of the former gas utility company in Lincoln. Gas... wind... I think I get it, now. Seventh, I've been thinking a lot about Russia and Germany lately--my grandmother used to write letters to the editor about how much she loved Ronald Reagan and wanted him to fight "The Russian Bear" that had taken over her homeland. Eighth, it's funny that we're talking about poetry but we're not talking about "The Western Wind." Ninth, I think I'm catching a cold. Tenth, I should do some laundry. Eleventh, what are they going to do with Antonia on True Blood? Twelfth, what key is "La Folia" in? It's gotta be D.... No! One flat would be D minor. Thirteenth, are you still reading this? I want you to get your money's worth.

    September 8, 2011

  • Oh boy, Ruzuzu, for that you deserve a great, strouting Rabelaisian codpiece, a codpiece so big it obscures your entire person. Ruzuzu that was so much fun. You're lucky there are no Vulcans in Lincoln (at the last census, anyway) because if there were, they'd all be glomming on to you with the mind-melds.

    September 8, 2011

  • Thank you, I feel I have my money's worth. What's with all the copies anyway? In Australia you're allowed to read books more than once if you own them. I like the word zephyr, but Zephyr makes me think of hippy offspring who have endangered species living in their armpits. If you're standing on the south side, I'd be vary about cutting trees when there's a north wind. I'm impressed as hell that your food truck from Hades has tasty poems in it...but are they digestible? Yes, water. Water music by a carillon. But I think you lost me when your freckles turned into the Bear constellation of gas giants and went on a truly bloody rampage through a laundry. In F. Sharp. Major.

    September 8, 2011

  • @bilby: When my former professors retire, they tend to give me their books. I can be a bit sentimental, so it takes me a while to redistribute them--especially when there are different editions with different handwritten notes in the margins.

    @yarb: I figured you'd like the fart jokes.

    September 8, 2011