Harmattan

//ˌhɑɹməˈtæn// noun

noun ·Rare ·Advanced level

Definitions

Noun
  1. 1
    A dry and dusty wind which blows from the Sahara over the Atlantic coast of West Africa in December, January and February, being a hot wind in some areas and a cold wind in others.

    "Storm-clouds stretched their arms across the sky; from the east, to all appearances, might come a fierce harmattan, or from the south might come the fierce hurricane."

  2. 2
    a dusty wind from the Sahara that blows toward the western coast of Africa during the winter wordnet
  3. 3
    A season which spans the period in which the harmattan wind blows.

Synonyms

All synonyms
devilsamielsiroccostorm

Example

More examples

"Storm-clouds stretched their arms across the sky; from the east, to all appearances, might come a fierce harmattan, or from the south might come the fierce hurricane."

Etymology

From Twi Akan haramata or a related word (whence also Spanish harmatán). The ultimate origin is supposed by some to be an Arabic word, but which one is uncertain; حَرَام (ḥarām, “accursed thing”) has been suggested.

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Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.