See Also: tornado(medicine)
tornado(dictionary)
tornado(encyclopedia)
tornado(dictionary)
tornado epilepsy(medicine)

tornado (iou)



tornado noun. Pl. -oes. M16.
[Perh. alt. of Spanish tronada thunderstorm, from tronar thunder, later assim. to tornar turn: see -ADO.]
1. A violent thunderstorm of the tropical Atlantic. Now rare exc. as passing into sense 2. M16.
2. A violent storm over a limited area, with whirling winds, a cyclone; in W. Africa, a thundery squall at the beginning or end of the rainy season. Now usu. spec., a destructive vortex of rotating winds of up to 300 miles per hour, forming a funnel-shaped cloud like a waterspout, which advances overland in a narrow path below a large thunderstorm, esp. in the southern plains of the US. E17.
3. fig. A violent or devastating person or thing; a sudden outburst, a volley. E19.
Comb.: tornado-cellar an underground shelter from tornadoes; tornado-lamp, tornado-lantern a hurricane-lamp; tornado-pit = tornado-cellar above.
tornade noun (rare) = TORNADO M17-E19.
tornadic adjective of, pertaining to, or resembling (that of) a tornado; violent, devastating: L19.