means a violent tropical cyclone occurring in the western Pacific or Indian Ocean — the same kind of storm called a hurricane in the Atlantic.

from A word with at least two roads that met in the middle. From the east, Cantonese 'tai fung' (大風), meaning 'big wind,' carried by sailors and traders. From the west, Greek 'Typhon' — the monstrous, storm-breathing giant of myth — which also gave Arabic and Persian 'tufan' for a great storm. English seems to have blended these streams over the 16th and 17th centuries, the Greek monster and the Chinese big wind reinforcing each other until one spelling settled the matter.