Word of the Day

: December 27, 2015

favonian

adjective fuh-VOH-nee-un

What It Means

: of or relating to the west wind : mild

favonian in Context

Our guests relaxed on the patio, watching the sunset and enjoying favonian breezes.

"The singular microclimate of Neuras makes [wine production] possible, as the favonian wind blowing in from the Atlantic chills the area down, while a geological fault spills out five natural springs into the alkaline soil." — Richard Bangs, The Huffington Post,7 Oct. 2014

Did You Know?

In "Ode to the West Wind," poet Percy Bysshe Shelley called the "wild West Wind" the "breath of Autumn's being." But according to Greco-Roman tradition, the west wind was warm and usually gentle. Its Latin name, Favonius, is the basis for the English adjective favonian and derives from roots that are akin to the Latin fovēre, meaning "to warm." Zephyros, a Greek name for the west wind, is the ultimate source of zephyr, meaning "a gentle breeze." In Greco-Roman tradition, it was the north wind, Boreas (aka Aquilo), who was the rude and blustery type.