| Definitions | | tornado |
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noun (tornadoes)
- A violently rotating column of air, pendant from a cumulonimbus cloud, and nearly always observable as a funnel cloud or tuba. On a local scale, it is the most destructive of all atmospheric phenomena. Its vortex, commonly several hundred yards in diameter, whirls usually counterclockwise with wind speeds of 100 to more than 300 miles per hour (161 to 483 kmph). Its general direction of travel is governed by the motion of its parent cloud.
- A rolled pork roast.
Etymology: From Spanish tronada (thunderstorm) < tronar (to thunder) < Latin tonare (to thunder) < Proto-Indo-European - (s)tene- (to thunder). The 'o' and 'r' were reversed in English (metathesis) under influence of Spanish tornar (to twist, to turn) < Latin tornare (to turn).
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Full Definition of tornado
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