English

Alternative forms

• föhn, fohn

Noun

foehn ‎(plural foehns)

1. A warm dry wind blowing down the north sides of the Alps, especially in Switzerland.
   • 1971, WW Kibler, translating Gian Fontana, ‘The Mayor of Valdei’, in Bezzola (ed.), The Curly-Horned Cow, Peter Owen 1971, p. 71:

     The foehn and the sun must have awakened the spirits of spring way up in the heights.

2. (meteorology) A similar katabatic wind developing on the lee side of a mountain.

Translations

See also

• chinook

French

Etymology

Borrowing from German Föhn.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /føn/

Noun

foehn m ‎(plural foehns)

1. (meteorology) foehn
2. (Switzerland, Alsatian) hair-dryer

Derived terms

• foehner