harmattan

har·mat·tan

H h

Transcription

- US Pronunciation
- US IPA
- UK Pronunciation
- UK IPA
- [hahr-muh-tan]
- /ˌhɑr məˈtæn/
- /ˌhɑː.mə.ˈtæn/

- US Pronunciation
- US IPA
- [hahr-muh-tan]
- /ˌhɑr məˈtæn/

Definitions of harmattan word

noun harmattan (on the west coast of Africa) a dry, parching land breeze, charged with dust. 1
noun harmattan A dry, dusty easterly or northeasterly wind on the West African coast, occurring from December to February. 1
noun harmattan a dry dusty wind from the Sahara blowing towards the W African coast, esp from November to March 0
noun harmattan a dry, dusty wind that blows from the Sahara in N Africa toward the Atlantic, esp. from Nov. to March 0
noun harmattan A dry and dusty wind, blowing from the Sahara, prevailing on the Atlantic coast of West Africa in December, January and February. 0
noun harmattan A season which spans the period in which the Harmattan wind blows. 0

See all 6 definitions of harmattan

Information block about the term

Origin of harmattan

First appearance:

before 1665

One of the 47% oldest English words

1665-75; said to be < Twi haramata

Historical Comparancy

Parts of speech for Harmattan

noun

adjective

verb

adverb

pronoun

preposition

conjunction

determiner

exclamation

Full grammatical hierarchy of Harmattan

harmattan popularity

A pretty common term. Usually people know it’s meaning, but prefer to use a more spread out synonym. About 66% of English native speakers know the meaning and use word.

According to our data about 51% of words is more used. This is a rare but used term. It occurs in the pages of specialized literature and in the speech of educated people.

harmattan usage trend in Literature

This diagram is provided by Google Ngram Viewer

Synonyms for harmattan

noun harmattan

devil — In Judaism, Christianity, and Islam, the Devil is the most powerful evil spirit.
sandstorm — a windstorm, especially in a desert, that blows along great clouds of sand (distinguished from dust storm).
black blizzard — a dust storm.
dust devil — a small whirlwind 10–100 feet (3–30 meters) in diameter and from several hundred to 1000 feet (305 meters) high, common in dry regions on hot, calm afternoons and made visible by the dust, debris, and sand it picks up from the ground.
duster — a person or thing that removes or applies dust.

All 10 Synonyms of harmattan