Skip to main content
Glite Dictionary
⛰️ From beyond mountains 💨 A cold mountain wind
tramontane

tramontane

9.9
A cold dry wind that blows from mountains into Italy and the western Mediterranean
  • noun
  • Archaic
translation icon : tramontana
  • The sudden arrival of the tramontane dropped temperatures and cleared the skies over Genoa.

Examples

  • Fishermen stayed ashore, wary of the strong tramontane sweeping down from the Alps.

  • The tramontane is known for its dry chill, characteristic of winters in the western Mediterranean.

  • The tramontane wind chilled the air in the valley.

  • Many farmers prepare for the tramontane as winter approaches.

  • Fishermen stayed ashore, wary of the strong tramontane sweeping down from the Alps.

  • The tramontane is known for its dry chill, characteristic of winters in the western Mediterranean.

  • The sudden arrival of the tramontane dropped temperatures and cleared the skies over Genoa.

Synonyms

mistral
vstramontane
1 9.9

A strong cold wind from southern France that blows into the Mediterranean in winter

is similar but comes from the mountains and blows more directly south into Italy
tramontana
vstramontane
9.9

A cold dry wind from mountains that blows into Italy and the western Mediterranean

is the same wind but given in an alternate form of the name
bora
vstramontane
  • UK
9.5

A strong cold wind from the north or northeast that blows along coasts

is similar but specifically blows down from mountains into Italy and western Mediterranean
bise
vstramontane
9.9

A cold, dry north wind that blows in southeastern France and nearby areas

is similar but blows from mountains toward Italy and the western Mediterranean
bize
vstramontane
  • UK
9.9

A cold dry north wind that blows in southeastern France, especially the Rhone valley

is similar but more associated with mountains and Italy rather than the Rhone area

How Windy

gale
24 5.8
tramontane
  • Archaic
9.9
wind
∞ 1.0
to breeze
1 1.0

Surface Forms

tramontane singular
tramontanes plural

Morphology

tramontane = montane (semi-transparent) = tram + montane

The specialized meteorological sense (a specific wind) derives from the same 'across the mountains' structure but denotes a particular wind type, making the relation somewhat specialized for learners.

Etymology

Tramontane comes from the Latin parts trans- 'across' and mont- 'mountain' and was used in Italy for a wind that comes 'across the mountains'. So a tramontane is a cold, dry wind that blows down from the mountains into the sea areas of the western Mediterranean.