bise

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(bēz) pronunciation
n.
A cold north wind of the Swiss Alps and nearby regions of France and Italy.

[Middle English, from Old French, of Germanic origin.]


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IN BRIEF: n. - A dry cold north wind in southeastern France.

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  • Winds - bise: cold, dry, northerly wind in Alps


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France

The bise is a northern wind, cold and generally dry

Switzerland

In Switzerland the bise blows from the north-east, above all during the winter months, and is due to a high-pressure cell north-west of Switzerland.[1] The effects of the bise are strongest in Geneva, situated in a narrow passage between the Jura mountains in the West and the Alps in the South. Many foreign travellers to this Swiss city have commented upon it.[2][3]

Etymology

The term entered Middle English from French bise. Its origin is unknown.[4]

References

  1. ^ Martin Beniston, From Turbulence to Climate: Numerical Investigations of the Atmosphere, Springer 1998, ISBN 3-540-63495-9, p.186
  2. ^ Fredrika Bremer, Two Years in Switzerland and Italy, Hurst and Blackett 1861, p.258
  3. ^ The Century: A Popular Quarterly by Making of America Project, The Century Co. 1909, p.463
  4. ^ W. R. Trumble; A. Stevenson, eds.,Shorter Oxford Dictionary, Oxford University Press 2002



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