Dictionary entry

Typhoon

Webster's Dictionary 1913

Ty‐phoon″ (?), n. [Earlier tuffoon, tuffon, Pg. tufão, Ar. tufān a violent storm; probably fr. Gr. τυφω̑ν, τυφω̑σ, a violent whirlwind, that rushes upward from the earth, whirling clouds of dust (cf. Typhus); or perhaps from Chin. t'ai-fung a cyclonic wind.] A violent whirlwind; specifically, a violent whirlwind occurring in the Chinese seas.