derecho

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derecho

/dəˈɹeɪ.t͡ʃoʊ/ US
/dəˈɹɛ.t͡ʃoʊ/ US
/dəˈɹeɪ.t͡ʃəʊ/ UK
/dəˈɹɛ.t͡ʃəʊ/ UK

Where it comes from

Learned borrowing from Spanish derecho (“straight”). First used by Gustavus Detlef Hinrichs in 1888, apparently coined to distinguish the winds from tornadoes, which rotate; compare tornado. Doublet of direct.

noun derechos · derechoes

US A windstorm characterized by damaging, straight-line winds, composed of one or more bowing lines of thunderstorms. Combining all of the above, the Arkansas Valley, Ouachita Mountains, Interior Plateau, and Southwest Appalachian ecoregions have the greatest risk of wind damage from tornadoes and derechos, whereas weakening hurricanes are an important disturbance, especially in the Piedmont ecoregion.

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MLA

"derecho." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/derecho. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026.

APA

derecho. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/derecho

Chicago

"derecho." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/derecho.

BibTeX

@misc{derecho_2026,
  title = {derecho},
  howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://micwyn.com/word/derecho},
  urldate = {2026-11-06}
}