noun

tornado

tornado, twister

The tornado destroyed many houses.

The tornado destroyed many houses.

((noun)) a violent rotating column of air The tornado touched down in the field.

Synonyms: twister, whirlwind

From Spanish 'tronada' (thunderstorm), altered by influence of 'tornar' (to turn).

The 'torn-' part sounds like 'turn', which is what a tornado does - it turns or twists violently.

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