Meanings
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1
noun
a seasonal wind system that reverses direction between summer and winter, especially in South and Southeast Asia
The southwest monsoon carries moist ocean air across the Indian subcontinent.
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2
noun
the rainy season associated with such a wind system
Roads were flooded for several weeks during the monsoon.
Thesaurus
Etymology
Borrowed through Portuguese moncao and Dutch moesson from Arabic mawsim, 'season or appointed time,' from wasama, 'to mark.' Sailors used the Arabic seasonal term for the regularly reversing winds that governed navigation and rainfall around the Indian Ocean.