gale

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(gāl) pronunciation
n.
    1. A wind with a speed of from 34 to 40 knots (39 to 46 miles per hour; 63 to 74 kilometers per hour), according to the Beaufort scale. Also called fresh gale.
    2. A storm at sea.
  1. A forceful outburst: gales of laughter.
  2. Archaic. A breeze.

[Origin unknown.]


gale2 (gāl) pronunciation
n.
The sweet gale.

[Middle English gail, from Old English gagel.]


noun

    A natural movement or current of air: air, blast, blow1, breeze, gust, wind1, zephyr. See breath/breathlessness.


[gāl]

n. 1. a wind of force 7 to 10 on the Beaufort scale (28-55 knots or 32-63 mph).

2. a storm at sea.

See the Introduction, Abbreviations and Pronunciation for further details.

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pronunciation

IN BRIEF: A strong wind.

pronunciation The pilot of a small plane said that he had been caught in a one hundred fifty mile gale, which held his plane perfectly still. — James Keller.

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Persistent strong winds with a mean speed exceeding 30 knots or gusts of 43 to 51 knots. Its value is 8 on Beufort’s scale. Gales are normally associated with strong pressure gradients, depressions, and storms. See also Beufort’s scale.

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Random House Word Menu by Stephen Glazier
For a list of words related to gale, see:

  See crossword solutions for the clue Gale.

A gale is a very strong wind. There are conflicting definitions of how strong a wind must be to be considered a gale. The U.S. government's National Weather Service defines a gale as 34–47 knots (63–87 km/h, 17.5–24.2 m/s or 39–54 miles/hour) of sustained surface winds.[1] Forecasters typically issue gale warnings when winds of this strength are expected.

Other sources use minimums as low as 28 knots (52 km/h) and maximums as high as 90 knots (170 km/h). Through 1986, the National Hurricane Center used the term gale to refer to winds of tropical force for coastal areas, between 33 knots (61 km/h) and 63 knots (117 km/h). The 90-knot (170 km/h) definition is very non-standard. A common alternative definition of the maximum is 55 knots (102 km/h).[2]

The most common way of measuring winds is with the Beaufort scale (pronounced /ˈboʊfərt/; see article for more on the traditional nautical use of the word "gale"). It is an empirical measure for describing wind speed based mainly on observed sea conditions. Its full name is the Beaufort wind force scale.

On the Beaufort Wind Scale, a Gale is classified as: Moderate Gale(32-38 miles per hour), Fresh Gale(39-46 mph), Strong Gale(47-54 mph) and Whole Gale(55-63 mph). A Gale is a type of Wind Description preceded by Calm, Light Air, Slight Breeze, Gentle Breeze, Moderate Breeze, Fresh Breeze, Strong Breeze and succeeded by Storm and Hurricane on a Beaufort Wind Scale. There is a unique Beaufort Scale number and a unique Arrow Indication for each type of Wind Description mentioned above.

References



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Common misspelling(s) of gale

  • gae

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Dansk (Danish)
1.
n. - storm

idioms:

  • gale force    storm styrke
  • gales of laughter    stormende latter

2.
n. - blæst, brise

Nederlands (Dutch)
stormwind, windkracht 7 tot 9, lachbui

Français (French)
1.
n. - vent violent, coup de vent

idioms:

  • gale force    force du vent
  • gales of laughter    (fig) éclats de rire

2.
n. - myrtille sauvage, buisson, (Bot) galle

Deutsch (German)
1.
n. - Sturm, frischer Wind

idioms:

  • gale force    Sturmstärke
  • gales of laughter    eine Lachsalve

2.
n. - Gagelstrauch, Heidemyrte

Ελληνική (Greek)
n. - (μετεωρ.) θύελλα, φουρτούνα, ανεμοθύελλα, έκρηξη

idioms:

  • gale force    ισχύς θυέλλης
  • gales of laughter    δυνατά γέλια

Italiano (Italian)
tempesta, burrasca

idioms:

  • gale force    da bufera
  • gale of    tempesta di

Português (Portuguese)
n. - ventania (f), brisa (f) (Poét.), explosão (f) (esp. de riso)

idioms:

  • gale force    força (f) do vento
  • gale of    explosão (f) (esp. de riso)

Русский (Russian)
шторм, очень сильный ветер, периодическая выплата ренты, восковник

idioms:

  • gale force    резкое усилие
  • gale of    взрыв

Español (Spanish)
1.
n. - viento tempestuoso, galerna, vendaval

idioms:

  • gale force    fuerza de tempestad, fuerza de vendaval
  • gales of laughter    carcajadas, torrentes de risa

2.
n. - hierba aromática de los páramos

Svenska (Swedish)
n. - storm, utbrott, terminsbetalning (av arrende el. hyra)

中文(简体)(Chinese (Simplified))
狂风, 定期租金, 大风

idioms:

  • gale force    大风, 风力
  • gales of laughter    阵阵笑声

中文(繁體)(Chinese (Traditional))
n. - 狂風, 定期租金, 大風

idioms:

  • gale force    大風, 風力
  • gales of laughter    陣陣笑聲

한국어 (Korean)
1.
n. - 광풍, 돌발

2.
n. - (관목의 일종) 들버드나무

日本語 (Japanese)
n. - 強風, 爆発, 嵐, 疾風

idioms:

  • gale force    風力
  • gale of    ~の嵐

العربيه (Arabic)
‏(الاسم) عاصفه‏

עברית (Hebrew)
n. - ‮סופה, התפרצות‬
n. - ‮שיח הגדל בביצות‬


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