simoom

British  

/ sɪˈmuːn, sɪˈmuːm /

noun

1. Also called: samiel.  a strong suffocating sand-laden wind of the deserts of Arabia and North Africa

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Etymology

Origin of simoom

from Arabic samūm poisonous, from sam poison, from Aramaic sammā poison

Example Sentences

If you happen to be in Africa and stuck in a “hot, dry, suffocating sand-wind” which sweeps across the deserts at intervals during the spring, you should know that you are in a simoom.

From Time • Mar. 20, 2014

But I'd as lief encounter a West India hurricane or a simoom.

From Continental Monthly, Vol. III, No IV, April 1863 Devoted to Literature and National Policy by Various

It is like the simoom of the desert—producing a feeling of intense weariness.

From Wild Life in a Southern County by Jefferies, Richard

In the choking breath of the simoom he feels the potentialities of God, and his own helpless impotence.

From Islam Her Moral And Spiritual Value A Rational And Pyschological Study by Leonard, Arthur Glyn

The breath that from it issues Parches my palate; like the hot simoom, It scorches, though it sweep as stilly o'er Some blasted, bladeless desert!—

From The Legendary and Poetical Remains of John Roby author of 'Traditions of Lancashire', with a sketch of his literary life and character by Roby, John

Related Words

• sandstorm