Word of the Day

: November 29, 2007

favonian

adjective fuh-VOH-nee-un

What It Means

: of or relating to the west wind : mild

favonian in Context

A favonian wind blew across the plains, a welcome sign of spring's imminent arrival.

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.