tornado
/tɔɹˈneɪ.doʊ/
Word Rarity
Rare
Frequency: Zipf frequency 3.82 in modern English
8
Scrabble Score
7
Letters
3
Syllables
6
Unique Chars
Meaning
noun
A violent wind in the form of a mobile, rapidly rotating, funnel cloud that has contacted the ground.
verb
Example Sentences
- "An extreme version of vorticity is a vortex. The vortex is a spinning, cyclonic mass of fluid, which can be observed in the rotation of water going down a drain, as well as in smoke rings, tornados and hurricanes."
- "Some of the same areas hit by tornadoes just a little over a week ago are expecting severe storms again Monday afternoon and evening. […] A multiday severe weather outbreak is possible Monday through Wednesday, increasing the already-above average tornado count even higher."
- "And so on Friday nights, James Torin tornadoed through six beers, a carton of cigarettes, a coffee table littered with lottery tickets, and unrequited dreams."
- "They come every night, those cavernous trains, tornadoing the frozen house, a madness feeling for the door."
Etymology
From earlier English ternado, attested since the 1550s as a nautical term for a windy thunderstorm. From Spanish tronada (“thunderstorm”), from tronar (“to thunder”), from Latin tonō (“to thunder”), from Proto-Indo-European *(s)tenh₂- (“to thunder”). The o and r were reversed in English (metathesis) under influence of Spanish tornar (“to twist, to turn”), from Latin tornō (“to turn”).
Origin
Word Breakdown
- Root: tronada, tonō, *(s)tenh₂-
Regional Pronunciation
- American English: /tɔɹˈneɪ.doʊ/
- British English: /tɔː(ɹ)ˈneɪ.dəʊ/