Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • noun A generally southerly hot wind originating in the Sahara that blows across Egypt from late March to early May.

from The Century Dictionary.

  • noun A hot southeast wind that blows regularly in Egypt for about fifty days, commencing about the middle of March.

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

  • noun Same as kamsin.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • noun A hot wind in Egypt which blows (for about 50 days) from the desert, bringing with it sand.

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • noun an oppressively hot southerly wind from the Sahara that blows across Egypt in the spring

Etymologies

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition

[Arabic (rīḥ al-)ḫamsīn, (wind of the) 50 (days), khamsin, from oblique case of ḫamsūn, fifty, from ḫams, five; see ḫmš in Semitic roots.]

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

Egyptian Arabic خمسين (khamsīn, "fifty").

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Examples

  • The British used the Arabic word "khamsin" which means "wind of 50 days."

    HIATUS WEEK, Part One David Campbell 2006

  • Natural hazards: periodic droughts; frequent earthquakes, flash floods, landslides; hot, driving windstorm called khamsin occurs in spring; dust storms, sandstorms

    Egypt 2009

  • Egypt is susceptible to periodic droughts; frequent earthquakes, flash floods, landslides; hot, driving windstorm called khamsin occurs in spring; dust storms, and sandstorms.

    Egypt 2009

  • Strong spring winds, known as the khamsin, have roared in on schedule, sending the pollution - which contains deadly sulfur dioxide, as well as traces of poisonous metals such as arsenic, lead and copper - swirling across the Middle East.

    Hellfighters To The Rescue 2008

  • Egyptperiodic droughts; frequent earthquakes, flash floods, landslides; hot, driving windstorm called khamsin occurs in spring; dust storms, sandstorms

    Natural hazards 2008

  • Natural hazards: periodic droughts; frequent earthquakes, flash floods, landslides; hot, driving windstorm called khamsin occurs in spring; dust storms, sandstorms

    Egypt 2008

  • Egypt: periodic droughts; frequent earthquakes, flash floods, landslides, volcanic activity; hot, driving windstorm called khamsin occurs in spring; dust storms, sandstorms

    The 2001 CIA World Factbook United States. Central Intelligence Agency

  • Natural hazards: periodic droughts; frequent earthquakes, flash floods, landslides, volcanic activity; hot, driving windstorm called khamsin occurs in spring; dust storms, sandstorms

    The 2001 CIA World Factbook United States. Central Intelligence Agency

  • Egypt periodic droughts; frequent earthquakes, flash floods, landslides; hot, driving windstorm called khamsin occurs in spring; dust storms, sandstorms

    The 2005 CIA World Factbook United States. Central Intelligence Agency

  • Natural hazards: periodic droughts; frequent earthquakes, flash floods, landslides, volcanic activity; hot, driving windstorm called khamsin occurs in spring; dust storms, sandstorms

    The 2000 CIA World Factbook United States. Central Intelligence Agency

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