a strong cold dry wind that blows through the Rhône valley and S France to the Mediterranean coast, mainly in the winter
2.
the class of board used in international windsurfing competitions, weighing 15kg and measuring 372cm × 64cm
Word origin
C17: via French from Provençal, from Latin magistrālismagistral, as in magistrālis ventus master wind
Mistral in British English
noun
1. (French mistral)
Frédéric (frederik). 1830–1914, French Provençal poet, who led a movement to revive Provençal language and literature: shared the Nobel prize for literature 1904
2. (Spanish misˈtral)
Gabriela (ɡaˈβrjela), pen name of Lucila Godoy de Alcayaga. 1889–1957, Chilean poet, educationalist, and diplomatist. Her poetry includes the collection Desolación (1922): Nobel prize for literature 1945