El Niño
El Ni·ño
noun \el-ˈnē-nyō\ plural El Niños
Definition of EL NIÑO
: an irregularly recurring flow of unusually warm surface waters from the Pacific Ocean toward and along the western coast of South America that prevents upwelling of nutrient-rich cold deep water and that disrupts typical regional and global weather patterns — compare la niña
See Origin of EL NIÑO
Spanish, literally, the child (i.e., the Christ child); from the appearance of the flow at the Christmas season
First Known Use: 1896
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