English

Alternative forms

• Zephyrus

Proper noun

Zephyr

1. (Greek mythology) The god of the West Wind.
   • 1714 June 10, [Alexander Pope], The Guardian, volume I, number 78, London: Printed for J[acob] Tonson, at Shakespear's-Head over-against Catherine-street in the Strand, page 332:

     For a Tempeſt. Take Eurus, Zephyr, Auſter and Boreas, and caſt them together in one Verſe. Add to theſe of Rain, Lightning, and of Thunder (the loudeſt you can) quantum ſufficit. Mix your Clouds and Billows well together till they foam, and thicken your Deſcription here and there with a Quickſand. Brew your Tempeſt well in your Head, before you ſet it a blowing.

2. (poetic) The west wind personified.

Hypernyms

• Anemoi, Aquilon

Coordinate terms

• Boreas/Septentrio (north), Notos/Auster (south), Eurus/Subsolanus (east), Zephyr/Zephyrus/Favonius (west)

Translations

English

Alternative forms

• zephir
• zefir

Noun

zephyr ‎(plural zephyrs)

1. a light wind from the west
2. any light refreshing wind; a gentle breeze
   • 1835, William Gilmore Simms, The Partisan, Harper, Chapter XI, page 135:

     The dusk of evening came on, soft in its solemnity, and unoppressive even in its gloom, under the sweet sky and unmolested zephyr, casting its pleasant shadows along the edges of the grove.

3. anything of fine, soft, or light quality, especially fabric

Derived terms

Translations

Synonyms

• westerly

Verb

zephyr ‎(third-person singular simple present zephyrs, present participle zephyring, simple past and past participle zephyred)

1. (intransitive, poetic) To blow or move like a zephyr, or light breeze.