Spindrift (more rarely spoondrift) is the

spray Spray or spraying commonly refer to: * Spray (liquid drop) ** Aerosol spray ** Blood spray ** Hair spray ** Nasal spray ** Pepper spray ** PAVA spray ** Road spray or tire spray, road debris kicked up from a vehicle tire ** Sea spray, refers to ...

blown from cresting waves during a

gale A gale is a strong wind; the word is typically used as a descriptor in nautical contexts. The U.S. National Weather Service defines a gale as sustained surface winds moving at a speed of between 34 and 47 knots (, or ).Beaufort Beaufort may refer to: People and titles * Beaufort (surname) * House of Beaufort, English nobility * Duke of Beaufort (England), a title in the peerage of England * Duke of Beaufort (France), a title in the French nobility Places Polar regions ...

and higher at sea. In Greek and Roman mythology,

Leucothea In Greek mythology, Leucothea (; grc-gre, Λευκοθέα, Leukothéa, white goddess), sometimes also called Leucothoe ( grc-gre, Λευκοθόη, Leukothóē), was one of the aspects under which an ancient sea goddess was recognized, in this ...

was the goddess of spindrift.

Terminology

''Spindrift'' is derived from the

Scots language Scots ( endonym: ''Scots''; gd, Albais, ) is an Anglic language variety in the West Germanic language family, spoken in Scotland and parts of Ulster in the north of Ireland (where the local dialect is known as Ulster Scots). Most commonly ...

, but its further

etymology Etymology ()The New Oxford Dictionary of English (1998) – p. 633 "Etymology /ˌɛtɪˈmɒlədʒi/ the study of the class in words and the way their meanings have changed throughout time". is the study of the history of the Phonological chan ...

is uncertain."spindrift, ''n.''", in '' The Dictionary of the Scots Language'', Edinburgh:

Scottish Language Dictionaries Scottish Language Dictionaries (SLD), now Dictionaries of the Scots Language (DSL) is Scotland's lexicographical body for the Scots Language. DSL is responsible for the major Scots dictionaries, the ''Dictionary of the Older Scottish Tongue'' and ...

, 2004–,

OCLC OCLC, Inc., doing business as OCLC, See also: is an American nonprofit cooperative organization "that provides shared technology services, original research, and community programs for its membership and the library community at large". It was ...

br>57069714
reproduced from W lliamGrant and D vidD. Murison, editors, '' The Scottish National Dictionary'', Edinburgh:

Scottish National Dictionary Association The Scottish National Dictionary Association (SNDA) was founded in 1929 to foster and encourage the Scots language, in particular by producing a standard dictionary of modern Scots. This primary aim was fulfilled in 1976 with the completion of the 1 ...

, 1931–1976,

br>847228655
Although the ''

Oxford English Dictionary The ''Oxford English Dictionary'' (''OED'') is the first and foundational historical dictionary of the English language, published by Oxford University Press (OUP). It traces the historical development of the English language, providing a com ...

'' suggests it is a variant of ''

spoondrift Spindrift (more rarely spoondrift) is the Sea spray, spray blown from cresting waves during a gale. This spray, which "drifts" in the direction of the gale, is one of the characteristics of a wind speed of 8 Beaufort scale, Beaufort and higher ...

'' based on the way that word was pronounced in southwest Scotland, from ''

spoon A spoon is a utensil consisting of a shallow bowl (also known as a head), oval or round, at the end of a handle. A type of cutlery (sometimes called flatware in the United States), especially as part of a place setting, it is used primarily for ...

'' or ''

spoom Spoom is a type of frothy sorbet made with a lighter sugar syrup than that required for a true sorbet. As it begins to set, it is mixed with half its volume of Italian meringue. Like sorbet, it is made from fruit juice, wine, sherry or port and ...

'' ("to sail briskly with the wind astern, with or without sails hoisted") and ''

drift Drift or Drifts may refer to: Geography * Drift or ford (crossing) of a river * Drift, Kentucky, unincorporated community in the United States * In Cornwall, England: ** Drift, Cornwall, village ** Drift Reservoir, associated with the village ...

'' ("a mass of matter driven or forced onward together in a body, etc., especially by wind or water"), this is doubted by the ' because ''spoondrift'' is attested later than ''spindrift'' and it seems unlikely that the Scots spelling would have superseded the English one, and because the early use of the word in the form ''spenedrift'' by James Melville (1556–1614) is unlikely to have derived from ''spoondrift''. In any case, ''spindrift'' was popularized in England through its use in the novels of the Scottish-born author William Black (1841–1898). In the 1940s U.S. Navy, ''spindrift'' and ''spoondrift'' appear to have been used for different phenomena, as in the following record by the captain of the

USS Barb (SS-220) USS ''Barb'' (SS-220), a , was the first ship of the United States Navy to be named for the Barbus, a genus of ray-finned fish. She compiled one of the most outstanding records of any U.S. submarine in World War II. During her seven war patrols ...

: "Visibility – which had been fair on the surface after moonrise – was now exceedingly poor due to spoondrift. Would that it were only the windblown froth of spindrift rather than the wind-driven cloudburst of water lashing the periscope exit eyepiece." ''Spindrift'' or ''spoondrift'' is also used to refer to fine sand or snow that is blown off the ground by the wind.
Spindrift
' on Merriam–Webster Online. Retrieved 20 July 2008.

References

{{Reflist Wind Precipitation Oceanography