Hurricane

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Perry Lassiter
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Hurricane

Postby Perry Lassiter » Wed Aug 29, 2012 9:13 pm

For obvious reasons named Isaac, I wondered about the the word "hurricane." It's etymology struck me as very unusual, as I am unfamiliar with the languages.

American Heritage Dictinary.

NOUN:
A severe tropical cyclone originating in the equatorial regions of the Atlantic Ocean or Caribbean Sea or eastern regions of the Pacific Ocean, traveling north, northwest, or northeast from its point of origin, and usually involving heavy rains.
A wind with a speed greater than 74 miles (119 kilometers) per hour, according to the Beaufort scale.
Something resembling a hurricane in force or speed.
ETYMOLOGY:
Spanish huracán, from Taino hurákan; ; akin to Arawak kulakani, thunder
pl

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Slava
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Re: Hurricane

Postby Slava » Wed Aug 29, 2012 9:17 pm

Here's the Good Doctor's treatment of this one.
Life is like playing chess with chessmen who each have thoughts and feelings and motives of their own.

Perry Lassiter
Great Grand Panjandrum
Posts: 3333
Joined: Wed Jan 03, 2007 12:41 pm
Location: RUSTON, LA
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Re: Hurricane

Postby Perry Lassiter » Thu Aug 30, 2012 2:05 pm

Thanks, Slava, I had used the Search box and was told there was no such entry. Connotations are interesting: typhoon sounds much more dangerous to me than hurricane. And if I remember correctly, the names used to be all female, perhaps because the male assumption that hurricanes and females were both unpredictable. However, males are likely to do more damage when they explode? Much better to alternate the names. Or we could simply letter or number them: A-M or 1-10.
pl


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