typhoon (English)
Where does "typhoon" come from?
The English word 'typhoon' has a complex etymological history involving multiple possible intersecting origins[1]. The earliest English usage for a giant storm in the Pacific dates to 1588 as 'Touffon', a form reflecting Portuguese 'tufão' which was in turn borrowed from Arabic 'طُوفَان' ('ṭūfān')[1]. That Arabic term may derive from a Sinitic source such as the Mandarin 'dàfēng' meaning 'big wind', or alternatively from a Semitic root meaning to circle around, or even from the Ancient Greek 'τυφῶν' ('tuphôn') meaning whirlwind[1]. Over time, English spellings like 'typhoong' were modified based on Chinese, while the overall spelling of the word in English was influenced by the Greek word[1].
Open questions
- The Arabic term طوفان may derive from Sinitic languages, or from a native Semitic root, or from Greek. [1]
- Some sources suggest the term originated in Greek and traveled via Arabic to Chinese before returning to Europe and Arabic. [1]
Full etymology tree
- typhoon (English), 'A severe tropical cyclone; an intense, rotating storm.'
- derived tufão (Portuguese), 'typhoon (weather phenomenon in the Pacific, equivalent to a hurricane)'
- borrowed طوفان (ṭūfān) (Arabic), 'deluge'
- derived ܛܘܦܢܐ (ṭawpānā) (Classical Syriac), 'flood, deluge, inundation'
- derived (Sinitic)
- derived ܛܘܦܢܐ (ṭawpānā) (Classical Syriac), 'flood, deluge, inundation'
- borrowed طوفان (ṭūfān) (Arabic), 'deluge'
- influenced by طوفان (ṭūfān) (Arabic), 'deluge'
- derived ܛܘܦܢܐ (ṭawpānā) (Classical Syriac), 'flood, deluge, inundation'
- derived (Sinitic)
- derived ܛܘܦܢܐ (ṭawpānā) (Classical Syriac), 'flood, deluge, inundation'
- influenced by Τυφῶν (Tuphôn) (Ancient Greek), 'Typhon'
- derived τύφω (túpho) (Ancient Greek), 'to smoke, fill with smoke'
- derived *dʰewh₂- (Proto-Indo-European), 'smoke'
- derived τύφω (túpho) (Ancient Greek), 'to smoke, fill with smoke'
- derived tufão (Portuguese), 'typhoon (weather phenomenon in the Pacific, equivalent to a hurricane)'
Cognates and doublets
- τυφῶν (Ancient Greek)
- तूफ़ान (Hindi)
- طوفان (Persian)
Descendants and derived words
- թայֆուն (Armenian)
- တိုင်ဖွန်း (Burmese)
- 台风 (Chinese)
- 颱風 (Chinese)
- tyfon (Danish)
- landphoon (English)
- supertyphoon (English)
- Typhoon Alley (English)
- typhoon chaser (English)
- typhoon fifth (English)
- typhoon hunter (English)
- typhoonic (English)
Related words
Sources
- typhoon (English) - Wiktionary
- Τυφῶν (Tuphôn) (Ancient Greek) - Wiktionary
- tufão (Portuguese) - Wiktionary
- طوفان (ṭūfān) (Arabic) - Wiktionary
Updated August 2026
Etymology data from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0 · About Miraris