zephyr
/ˈzɛfə
/noun
1 literary A soft gentle breeze.Anything less than a wind of 30 miles per hour is considered but a gentle zephyr....
- All kinds of weather conditions marked the week, from strong storm fronts, to gentle zephyrs and horrendous wind-shifts, turning 180 degrees.
- Crickets were chirruping, a soft zephyr was softly blowing the tree branches, and everything was quiet.
2 [mass noun] historical A fine cotton gingham.
2.1 [count noun] A very light article of clothing.
Origin
Late Old English zefferus, denoting a personification of the west wind, via Latin from Greek zephuros '(god of the) west wind'. Sense 1 dates from the late 17th century.