vendaval means A westerly wind, especially one that blows into the Mediterranean Sea around the area of the Straits of Gibraltar and Morocco, or a similar wind in the Philippines. Lexicurio rates it Sui generis — a strength score of 89 out of 100.
Why this word is great
VENDAVAL — [Noun] A powerful, gusting wind from the west or southwest, specifically one funneling into the Mediterranean past Gibraltar or a comparable Philippine gale. From Spanish vendaval, from French vent d'aval, literally "wind from downstream" (i.e., from the west, with 'aval' meaning downstream). Unlike a "breeze," a light and domestic stirring, or a "monsoon," a vast, scheduled deluge, a vendaval is a localized, temperamental violence. It is the Atlantic’s briny exhalation forced through the stone throat of Gibraltar; the sound of harbor rigging screaming in a taut chromatic scale; the violent list of a fishing boat off Tarifa. It is the weather of exile, a constant reminder that the open sea lies downwind, and every calm is provisional.
noun
- A westerly wind, especially one that blows into the Mediterranean Sea around the area of the Straits of Gibraltar and Morocco, or a similar wind in the Philippines.“The vendaval gives unequivocal signs of its approach. If the easterly wind be blowing, it will veer to the S.E., the sky will become obscured and the coast concealed, […]”