Tornado

[skinem]

Main Entry: tor·na·do
Pronunciation: tor-'nA-(")dO
Function: noun
Inflected Form(s): plural -does or -dos
Etymology: modification of Spanish tronada thunderstorm, from tronar to thunder, from Latin tonare -- more at THUNDER
1 archaic : a tropical thunderstorm
2 a : a squall accompanying a thunderstorm in Africa b : a violent destructive whirling wind accompanied by a funnel-shaped cloud that progresses in a narrow path over the land
3 : a violent windstorm : WHIRLWIND

As you can see from this post and the previous, you may have correctly guessed that we had a bumpy night. All is well.

And despite the evidence of news interviews, it is not pronounced "tornader"...but they DO sound like freight trains!

[Slava]

An interesting tie-in here is just how many English words beginning in "tor" relate to twisting. Though we call tornadoes "twisters," the "tor" here is a mistake and has nothing to do with the "tor" of, say, torque, torment, or torture.

[LukeJavan8]

Main Entry: tor·na·do
Pronunciation: tor-'nA-(")dO
Function: noun
Inflected Form(s): plural -does or -dos
Etymology: modification of Spanish tronada thunderstorm, from tronar to thunder, from Latin tonare -- more at THUNDER
1 archaic : a tropical thunderstorm
2 a : a squall accompanying a thunderstorm in Africa b : a violent destructive whirling wind accompanied by a funnel-shaped cloud that progresses in a narrow path over the land
3 : a violent windstorm : WHIRLWIND

As you can see from this post and the previous, you may have correctly guessed that we had a bumpy night. All is well.

And despite the evidence of news interviews, it is not pronounced "tornader"...but they DO sound like freight trains!

As anyone who has lived through them knows, a
freight train is apt when describing them. It is interesting
that Hurricane comes from the Taino Indian word for their
god. The Plains Tribes don't have many words for
Tornado, and yet they are so common one would
think so.