zephyr
UK /ˈzɛfə(ɹ)/ · US /ˈzɛfɚ/ noun, verb, proper noun
Forms zephyrs zephyring zephyred zephir Zephyrus
- noun A light wind from the west.
- noun Any light refreshing wind; a gentle breeze.
- noun Anything of fine, soft, or light quality, especially fabric.
- noun A type of soft confectionery made by whipping fruit and berry purée (mostly apple purée) with sugar and egg whites with subsequent addition of a gelling agent like pectin, carrageenan, agar, or gelatine.
- verb (intransitive, poetic) To blow or move like a zephyr, or light breeze.
- verb (transitive, poetic) To blow or blow on gently like a zephyr; to cool or refresh with a gentle breeze.
- proper noun (Greek mythology) The god of the West Wind.
- proper noun (poetic) The west wind personified.
- proper noun A surname.
Synonyms
Etymology
From Latin zephyrus (“west wind”), from Ancient Greek Ζέφυρος (Zéphuros). Doublet of zefir, zéphire, Zephyr, and Zephyrus. The confectionery sense is a semantic loan from Russian зефи́р (zefír).
From Ancient Greek Ζέφυρος (Zéphuros).
Webster’s 1913
Etymology [L. zephyrus, Gr. zéphyr.]
Sources: Wiktionary · WordNet 3.0 · Webster’s 1913 — from the Wiktionary entry “zephyr”, CC BY-SA 4.0. Details