Violent tropical storms with extremely strong winds and heavy rain that occur in the western Pacific Ocean.
From Portuguese 'tufão', which came from Arabic 'tufān' (whirlwind) or possibly from Chinese 'tai fung' meaning great wind. Different names for the same storm exist: hurricane in Atlantic, cyclone in Indian Ocean.
The same spinning storm system has three different names depending on where it forms—typhoon, hurricane, or cyclone—which shows how colonial history shaped our language, with different European languages naming the same natural disaster.
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