trade wind
noun/ˈtɹeɪd ˈwɪnd/
Etymology Compound of trade (“course, path (of running)”, from 14th c.) + wind, because of their consistent linear direction. Associations with transatlantic trade are a later folk etymology.
1
A steady wind that blows from east to west above and below the equator.
- They rode the trade winds going west.
- During the summer months, from November to April, the trade wind is less steady over large parts of the ocean.2008, Jimmy Cornell, World Cruising Routes, A&C Black, →ISBN, page 365:
- Derived terms
- antitrade wind
- Coordinate terms
- westerly