Drag to pan · scroll to zoom
Drag to rotate
Tracing “”…
Where does the word "hurricane" come from? It comes from Taíno hurakán, passing through Spanish before entering English (c. 1550s).
Read the full story
Where does the word "hurricane" come from? It comes from Taíno hurakán, passing through Spanish before entering English (c. 1550s).
Hurricane’s story begins in Taíno: hurakán meant “storm god.” Named after a storm deity of the Caribbean Taíno people. By c. 1500s, the word had taken hold in Spanish as huracán. Recorded by Spanish colonizers encountering Caribbean storms. It reached English by c. 1550s as hurricane. Spelling settled after passing through several variants. Today, hurricane means a severe tropical cyclone with violent winds.
- Stage 1 · Taíno · pre-1500s hurakán "storm god", named after a storm deity of the Caribbean Taíno people.
- Stage 2 · Spanish · c. 1500s huracán "violent storm", recorded by Spanish colonizers encountering Caribbean storms.
- Stage 3 · English · c. 1550s hurricane "a violent tropical storm", spelling settled after passing through several variants.