trade winds
noun /ˈtreɪd wɪndz/
/ˈtreɪd wɪndz/
[plural]- strong winds that blow all the time towards the equator and then to the west
- The trade winds originate in the South Pacific.
Word Originmid 17th cent.: from the phrase blow trade ‘blow steadily in the same direction’. Because of the importance of these winds to navigation, 18th-cent. etymologists mistakenly connected the word trade with “commerce”.