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kham·sin

(kăm-sēn)

A generally southerly hot wind originating in the Sahara that blows across Egypt from late March to early May.

[Arabic (rīḥ al-)ḫamsīn, (wind of the) 50 (days), khamsin, from oblique case of ḫamsūn, fifty, from ḫams, five; see ḫmš in the Appendix of Semitic roots.]

Indo-European & Semitic Roots Appendices

Thousands of entries in the dictionary include etymologies that trace their origins back to reconstructed proto-languages. You can obtain more information about these forms in our online appendices:

Indo-European Roots

Semitic Roots

The Indo-European appendix covers nearly half of the Indo-European roots that have left their mark on English words. A more complete treatment of Indo-European roots and the English words derived from them is available in our Dictionary of Indo-European Roots.

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