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Jun 14, 2010
This week's themeWords related to weather
This week's words
aeolian
A sculpture of Aeolus in Aeolian Islands, Italy
Photo: Thomas Reichart
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with Anu GargThe part of the world I live in, the Seattle area, is notorious for its rainy weather. The reputation is undeserved -- places such as Miami and New York City receive much more total rain in a year. There's a kernel of truth in that, however. The winter sky here is often gray and often drizzly.
The way I see it, weather is a state of mind. How gray one feels inside has little to do with clouds or what the thermometer reads. One could find cheerful people in an icy place like Alaska or gloomy people on a sunny beach in Hawaii.
This week we'll look at five words related to weather and climate, words about wind, rain, clouds, and more.
aeolian or eolian
PRONUNCIATION:
(ee-O-lee-uhn) 
MEANING:
adjective: Relating to or caused by the wind. ETYMOLOGY:
After Aeolus, god of the winds in Greek mythology. As keeper of the winds, he gave a bag containing winds to help with Odysseus's sailing. USAGE:
"It would not be surprising if a few features -- even very large ones -- were sculpted by aeolian processes into the pyramidal forms we see."Carl Sagan and Ann Druyan; The Demon-Haunted World: Science as a Candle in the Dark; Random House; 1995.
Explore "aeolian" in the Visual Thesaurus.
A THOUGHT FOR TODAY:
Happiness is not a goal; it is a by-product. -Eleanor Roosevelt, diplomat and author (1884-1962) Sponsored by:
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