zonda means A hot, dry wind of the Andes. Lexicurio rates it Sui generis — a strength score of 87 out of 100.
Why “zonda” is a great word
ZONDA — [Noun] A hot, dry, dust-laden katabatic wind that descends the eastern slopes of the Andes into the plains of central Argentina. From Spanish *zonda*, a regional name for this wind. Unlike the generic "foehn" (which describes any warm downslope wind) or the trans-Mediterranean "sirocco" (which carries a desert's breath across the sea), the zonda is a localized, geological exhalation. It is the furnace-blast that cracks the clay of Mendoza's vineyards, the ochre haze that blots the sun over San Juan, and the gritty breath that parches the throat in the mountain's shadow—a raw reminder that the very peaks which promise cool refuge can also exhale a relentless heat.
Etymology
From Spanish zonda.
noun
- A hot, dry wind of the Andes.