A strong northwesterly wind that occurs in the Mediterranean Sea, particularly in the Maltese region.
From Italian 'grecale' or Spanish 'grecal', derived from Medieval Latin 'gregalis' (relating to the Greeks), because this wind was thought to blow from the direction of Greece.
Mediterranean sailors had names for every major wind pattern because their lives literally depended on predicting weather—the Grecale is one of dozens, and knowing its habits could mean the difference between a profitable voyage and disaster.
Complete word intelligence in one call. Free tier — 50 lookups/day.