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Gust Beyond Wind
You're no doubt familiar with the simple gust that means "a brief burst of wind." At least a century and a half before that word first appeared in print in the late 16th century, however, a differently derived homograph came on the scene. The windy gust is probably derived from an Old Norse word gustr, whereas our older featured word (which is now considerably rarer than its look-alike) comes to us through Middle English from gustus, the Latin word for "taste." Gustus gave English another word as well. Gusto (which now usually means "zest" but can also mean "an individual or specific taste") comes to us from gustus by way of Italian.
Examples of gust in a Sentence
Nc Weather Bot, Charlotte Observer, 17 May 2025
Winds are expected to be north winds 15 to 25 mph with gusts up to 35 mph expected.
—Ca Weather Bot, Sacbee.com, 17 May 2025
Sam Cohn, Baltimore Sun, 17 May 2025
The wet weekend weather is expected continue into Saturday evening, when winds could gust into the low 20-mph range.
—Ashley Fredde, Idaho Statesman, 16 May 2025
See All Example Sentences for gust
Cite this Entry
“Gust.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/gust. Accessed 29 May. 2025.
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