Derecho (noun)
de-re-cho
a widespread and severe windstorm that moves rapidly along a fairly straight path and is associated with bands of rapidly moving thunderstorms.
Derecho means both “right” and “straight” in Spanish and comes from Latin dīrēctus, “straightened,” the source of English direct and adroit (through French droit).
Example sentences
“A long series of derechos and thunderstorms wended their way across the continent from early June through late August.”
Wonky (adj) won-kee Not straight or balanced, off kilter. First recorded in 1915–20; perhaps variant of dialectal wanky, equivalent to wank(le) ( Middle English wankel, Old English wancol. (more…)