Pronounced: HET-uh-ruh-fee-mee, noun
Notes: I didn’t know that this word existed
Yesterday’s word
The word spindrift is
- sea spray; especially spray blown from waves during a gale
- fine wind-borne snow or sand
First usage
Our word came into English in the late 1500s
Background / Comments
Of the three kinds of spindrift in the definition, I am most familiar with snow; growing up in the Midwest, I remember being outside after a snow fall with drifts of snow all around, and the wind blowing fine bits of snow from the drifts. I have not had experience with either a spindrift of water or of sand. Our word came from the Scottish word speendrift, made up of speen (to drive before a strong wind) and drift. When the word became to be used in England, the spellling changed to spindrift. Its original use was for sea spray; it broadened over time to include sand and snow.
Richard's Vocabulary Word-of-the-Day 