Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

steam devil

Word Rarity Uncommon

Frequency: Zipf frequency 4.10 in modern English

Syllables: steam dev-il
IPA

16

Scrabble Score

10

Letters

2

Syllables

9

Unique Chars

Meaning

noun

A spiraling wind caused by rising thermals off a warm body of water's surface that has been enveloped by a layer of very cold air, which also causes the humidity in the thermal to turn to mist, highlighting the whirl of the column. The equivalent of a dustdevil over water.

Etymology

From steam + devil. From being a whirlwind (“devil”) formed from mist (“steam”). Patterned after dust devil.

Inflected Forms

steam devils (plural) steamdevil (alternative) steam-devil (alternative)

Phrases

dust devil fire devil

Frequently Paired Words

devil dust devil fire devil spout thermal tornado waterspout whirl

Questions

What does steam devil mean?: A spiraling wind caused by rising thermals off a warm body of water's surface that has been enveloped by a layer of very cold air, which also causes the humidity in the thermal to turn to mist, highlighting the whirl of the column. The equivalent of a dustdevil over water.
Where does steam devil come from?: From steam + devil. From being a whirlwind (“devil”) formed from mist (“steam”). Patterned after dust devil.

How to pronounce steam devil

Open the pronunciation page — Open the Speakur entry for “steam devil”.
Read the phonetic spelling — Read the IPA spelling () so you know which sounds to aim for.
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Repeat and practice — Say “steam devil” aloud, matching stress and vowels until it feels natural.