dust devil

noun
/dʌst ˈdɛvəl/

Etymology

From dust + devil.

  1. derived from διάβολος
  2. derived from diabolus
  3. inherited from *diubul
  4. inherited from dēofol
  5. inherited from devil
  6. compounded as dust devil — “dust + devil

Definitions

  1. A small atmospheric vortex appearing in clear, dry conditions, made visible by swirling…

    A small atmospheric vortex appearing in clear, dry conditions, made visible by swirling dust (or dirt or sand) picked up from the ground.

    • Near-synonyms: whirlwind, whirl, sandspout, sand pillar, willy willy (Australia)
    • A dust devil may look harmless, but a large one can overturn a car.

The neighborhood

Vish — recursive loop

No curated loop yet for dust devil. Loops are being traced one word at a time while the ingestion pipeline matures.

sense glosses and etymology drawn from English Wiktionary · source · CC-BY-SA