Etymology

harmattan

H4A1R1M3A1T1T1A1N1

Today it means: A dry and dusty wind which blows from the Sahara over the Atlantic coast of West Africa in December, January and February, being a hot wind in some areas and a cold wind in others. Full definition →

Akan haramata
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The story

  1. Akan · derived fromharamata
  2. English todayharmattan

From Twi Akan haramata or a related word (whence also Spanish harmatán). The ultimate origin is supposed by some to be an Arabic word, but which one is uncertain; حَرَام (ḥarām, “accursed thing”) has been suggested.

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.