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   trade wind

   /ˈtrād ˌwind/

   noun

   • 1. a wind blowing steadily towards the equator from the northeast in the northern hemisphere or the southeast in the southern hemisphere, especially at sea. Two belts of trade winds encircle the earth, blowing from the tropical high-pressure belts to the low-pressure zone at the equator.

   Word Origin mid 17th century: from the phrase blow trade ‘blow steadily in the same direction’. Because of the importance of these winds to navigation, 18th-century etymologists were led erroneously to connect the word trade with ‘commerce’.

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