the.com/sultry
a word that lowers the lights, raises the temperature, and never once raises its voice.
means Describing weather that is oppressively hot and humid, or a person, voice, or manner that is smolderingly seductive.
from From an old verb 'sweltry,' a sibling of 'swelter,' both growing from Old English 'sweltan' — to die, or faint, or be overcome with heat. The original sense was purely meteorological: air thick enough to make you swoon. Only later did English notice that the same word for a heavy, breathless day worked just as well for a heavy, breathless look — and 'sultry' quietly slipped from the weather report into the bedroom.
- weather roots
- Originally meant oppressively hot, sweaty summer air.
- sweltering kin
- Shares ancestry with sweat and swelter.
- sound work
- The slow 'sul' drags before 'try' snaps shut.
- jazz favorite
- A staple adjective for smoky-voiced torch singers.
new orleans in august — average humidity 74% with 90°f+ temperatures, creating oppressive tropical conditions in the american south
bangkok dry season — 40°c heat with 60-70% humidity from march-may, making it one of the world's most uncomfortably hot cities
miami in september — pre-hurricane season peak of 88°f, 80% humidity, and heavy afternoon thunderstorms across south florida