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DictionarysiroccoHot North African wind
noun

sirocco

sih-ROK-oh/sɪˈrɑːkəʊ/

A hot, dusty wind blowing from North Africa toward the Mediterranean.

A hot sirocco carries dust from North Africa across the Mediterranean.

An oblique aerial view of the Sahara bordering the Mediterranean, with a broad ochre dust plume visibly streaming from the sun-baked desert northward over the blue sea.
Etymology
siroccoArabiceastern; east wind

Arabic sharqi describes an eastern wind, with “east” ultimately connected to the sun’s rising. The directional name became the term for the hot, dust-laden wind reaching southern Italy from North Africa.

More examples

  • The sirocco leaves a fine layer of dust on our balcony.
  • We close the windows as the sirocco reaches Sicily.
  • Strong siroccos sometimes turn the sky a hazy yellow.

Forms

sirocco · siroccos

Similar words

wind
A general term that does not specify heat or origin.