zephyr

<font size="-1" face="arial, helvetica"> <p> <strong> <font color="#000066">Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for May 18, 2023 is:</font> </strong> </p> <p> <strong>zephyr</strong> &#149; \ZEFF-er\&nbsp; &#149; <em>noun</em><br /> <p>A zephyr is a breeze blowing from the west. More loosely, a zephyr can be any gentle breeze.</p> <p>// We were relieved when a <em>zephyr</em> blew in just as the heat of the day was peaking, allowing us to remain comfortably on the beach for a little while longer.</p> <p><a href="https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/zephyr">See the entry ></a></p> </p> <p> <strong>Examples:</strong><br /> <p>“As I played [the video game <em>Okami</em>], I’d pause to manually draw a slash, loop, or other shape using a calligraphy-style brush, creating a tornado or a fire. … An ‘O’ around a tree’s naked branches made it burst with cherry blossoms, a vision of abundance. A curlicue in the air created a <em>zephyr</em> that gently riffled through the sky. The world was my sketchbook, and I wanted to beautify the game’s gorgeous woodblock and <a href="https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/sumi-e">sumi-e</a> ink art style.” — Nicole Clark, <em>Polygon.com</em>, 8 Feb. 2023</p> </p> <p> <strong>Did you know?</strong><br /> <p>To build on a classic lyric by <a href="https://www.britannica.com/biography/Bob-Dylan-American-musician">Bob Dylan</a>, you don’t need a weatherman to know which way the wind blows—especially if you know that wind is a zephyr. You see, poets have eulogized Zephyrus, the Greek god of the west wind—and his “swete breeth” (in the words of Geoffrey Chaucer)—for centuries. <a href="https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/Zephyrus"><em>Zephyrus</em></a>, the personified west wind, eventually evolved into <em>zephyr</em>, a word for a breeze that is westerly or gentle, or both. Breezy <em>zephyr</em> blew into English with the help of such delightfully windy wordsmiths as William Shakespeare, who used the word in h