Main Entry: si·roc·co

Variant(s): also sci·roc·co \shə-ˈrä-(ˌ)kō, sə-\

Function: noun

Inflected Form(s): plural si·roc·cos

Etymology: Italian scirocco, sirocco, alteration of Old Italian scilocco, from Arabic dial. (Maghreb) šlōq southeast wind, alteration of Arabic shalūq, shulūq

Date: 1617

1 a : a hot dust-laden wind from the Libyan deserts that blows on the northern Mediterranean coast chiefly in Italy, Malta, and Sicily b : a warm moist oppressive southeast wind in the same regions
2 : a hot or warm wind of cyclonic origin from an arid or heated region