simoom means A hot, dry, suffocating, dust-laden wind of the desert, particularly of Arabia, Syria, and neighboring countries, generated by the extreme heat of the parched deserts or sandy plains. Lexicurio rates it Sui generis — a strength score of 85 out of 100.
simoom is pronounced /sɪˈmuːm/.
Why “simoom” is a great word
SIMOOM — [Noun] A hot, dry, suffocating, dust-laden wind of the desert, particularly of Arabia, Syria, and neighboring countries. From Arabic samūm (“hot wind”), from samma (“to poison”). First attested in English use in the late 18th century. Unlike the monsoon, which heralds drenching seasonal rains, or the haboob, a defined, advancing wall of dust, the simoom is a pervasive, atmospheric venom. It is the horizon warping into a coppery shimmer, the invisible grit that sears the lungs, and the palpable weight of a sky turned to dull brass; the desert’s exhalation, proving the very air can be an instrument of pure negation.
noun
- A hot, dry, suffocating, dust-laden wind of the desert, particularly of Arabia, Syria, and neighboring countries, generated by the extreme heat of the parched deserts or sandy plains.“The desert storm was riding in its strength; the travellers lay beneath the mastery of the fell simoom. Whirling wreaths and columns of burning wind, rushed around and over them.”