hurricane English · revision 2189

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: /ˈhʌɹɪkən/, /ˈhʌɹɪkeɪn/^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[bor|es|huracán]],^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline)^(RHWU) from an Arawakan or Taino word ''hurakán'' of the West Indies.^(MW Collegiate)^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline)^(RHWU) The earliest English forms, such as ''furacane'' and ''uracan'', reflect Spanish ''huracán'' and Portuguese ''furacão''.^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ A violent wind-storm of the West Indies; a cyclone (1555).^(OED 1989)^(MW Collegiate)^(Barnhart 1995) The first English use is in Richard Eden's ''Decades of the New World'', as ''furacanes''.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ The OED records 39 spellings, mostly from the late 16th century;^(Etymonline) the present spelling became frequent from 1650 and was established by 1688.^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline) Figuratively the word was used from 1639 for any violent rush or commotion,^(OED 1989) and in the 18th century for a crowded fashionable party at a private house.^(OED 1989) Meteorologists now restrict it to tropical cyclones of the Atlantic and eastern Pacific with winds of at least 74 miles an hour.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * 1555 – a violent West Indian wind-storm.^(OED 1989)^(MW Collegiate)^(Barnhart 1995)

+ * 1639 – a violent rush or commotion.^(OED 1989)

+ * 1688 – the spelling ''hurricane'' established.^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline)

+ * 1746 – a crowded fashionable gathering.^(OED 1989)

+ * 1894 – adjective, of a lamp with a glass chimney.^(MW Collegiate)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Noun===

+ # A severe tropical cyclone of the Atlantic, Caribbean or eastern Pacific, usually with heavy rain.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU)^(Wiktionary)

+ # A wind of more than 74 miles (119 kilometres) per hour.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)^(Wiktionary)

+ # Something resembling a hurricane in force or turmoil.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU)^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[hurricane deck]]

+ * [[hurricane lamp]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[typhoon]]

+ * [[cyclone]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}