25

In the Netherlands we have a term for when for example you're biking on the streets and you have the wind in the back. We call that wind meewind, and we say we have meewind (translated as wind with).

We also have a term for when we have to cycle against the wind. We call that wind tegenwind (literally translated as wind against). We arrive faster at our destination via bike when we have meewind.

Does the English also have two words to describe these two versions of wind?

jimm101
  • 10,753
sara
  • 520

2 Answers2

86

The terms are most often heard in connection with aviation (flying), but it would not be incorrect to say that one is riding “with a tailwind” (meewind) or “into a headwind” (tegenwind).

Jeff Zeitlin
  • 6,776
  • 2
  • 21
  • 38
  • 37
    No need to hedge. Tailwind is used in cycling: https://bicycles.stackexchange.com/questions/44967/how-to-know-you-have-tailwind – Juhasz Jan 07 '20 at 20:54
  • 12
    Not to mention sailing, and pretty much any other activity involving wind. – terdon Jan 08 '20 at 13:10
  • 4
    @Juhasz: And just to avoid any doubt, headwind is also very widely used in cycling. – PLL Jan 09 '20 at 10:30
  • 9
    @Juhasz - No it's not. I've never had a tailwind; I've just had days when I've been awesome. Headwinds I get all the time... It's explained beautifully by this answer on the question you linked. ;) – AndyT Jan 09 '20 at 11:42
  • 2
    @terdon agreed: Headwind and tailwind are definitely the generally correct terms and I would not consider them "aviation terms": you hear them used constantly in coverage of many Olympic events (winter and summer) for their impact on results in Ski jumping, long jumping, 100m dash (here it's a wash between competitors in one heat but can affect olympic/world record eligibility), etc. See https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wind_assistance for example usage in this context – Steven Jackson Jan 09 '20 at 21:42
  • 1
    @AndyT jump legality/record eligibility is also the only time you'll get athletes to admit to having a tailwind, but only in the following manner: "I would have won the competition with that jump if the tailwind hadn't picked up... I didn't even need it, I won by such a large margin, but it invalidated the entire jump" or "I would have the record if the tailwind hadn't been barely over the limit. I beat it by .5 seconds, and the wind was barely any stronger than during the previous record anyways!" – Steven Jackson Jan 09 '20 at 21:46
  • Might be worth mentioning the redundancy here: the prepositions you chose can actually do the whole job on their own. “with the wind” and “into (or against) the wind” are unambiguous, idiomatic phrases in their own right—and in their own way, also quite direct translations of the Dutch, despite not being compound noun solutions. – jez Jan 11 '20 at 00:22
17

The other answer of headwind/tailwind is absolutely correct to describe the wind itself, but you could also describe directions relative to the wind as upwind and downwind. Moving in an upwind direction means moving into the wind, which itself could then be described as a headwind. Moving downwind means moving in the same direction as the wind, which can then be described as a tailwind. Other terms to describe direction with respect to the wind are windward (upwind) and leeward (downwind). One rides windward into a headwind, and leeward with a tailwind.

Nuclear Hoagie
  • 13,513
  • 1
    I've only heard 'windward' and 'leeward' used in relation to geographical features (typically mountains). The refer to which side of the mountain you are relative to the prevailing wind direction, not which direction you are facing. This site explains it well and coincidentally says the corresponding terms in dutch are 'loef' and 'lij'. – JimmyJames Jan 08 '20 at 20:27
  • 9
    @JimmyJames It's also used commonly in sailing parlance. Turning windward means pointing the boat into the wind (tacking), and turning leeward mean point the boat the same direction as the wind. With a constant wind, the windward and leeward sides of the boat are determined entirely by your heading, so it's an entirely relative term that depends only on what direction you're facing. Windward and leeward sides are fixed for a non-moving object with constant winds, but not for something that can change heading. See https://rcyc.ca/Doc-Types/Know-Your-Rules/KYRules-March-2012.aspx – Nuclear Hoagie Jan 08 '20 at 20:36
  • 3
    Upwind and downwind usually refer to the position of something, not the direction of travel. You mention sailing, surely it's "into/against the wind" and "before/with the wind". After all, you can't sail upwind . – Weather Vane Jan 09 '20 at 18:49
  • 1
    @WeatherVane You can use upwind and downwind to describe a position or direction, just like any other directional term. I don't see any particular differences between "the animal is to the north", "I am sailing to the north", "the animal is upwind", and "I am sailing upwind". No clue what you mean about not being able to sail upwind, it's called tacking. – Nuclear Hoagie Jan 09 '20 at 19:02
  • 1
    That's the reason for tacking: you can't sail upwind. And "leeward" is definitely a sailing term, not a bicycling term. A "lee shore". Unless you are on a pedalo. – Weather Vane Jan 09 '20 at 19:04
  • 1
    @WeatherVane You can't sail directly upwind, but tacking lets you sail in the direction the wind is coming from... which, by definition, is upwind. There are only 3 ways you can move in wind: upwind, downwind, or perpendicular to the wind. Any heading within the semicircle centered on the wind's origin will have you move upwind/windward. – Nuclear Hoagie Jan 09 '20 at 19:10
  • Sorry, I don't understand what any of this has to do with cycling. – Weather Vane Jan 09 '20 at 19:10
  • @WeatherVane It doesn't, it has to do with wind. These are general terms for directionality with respect to wind, not anything that's specific to the domain of cycling. – Nuclear Hoagie Jan 09 '20 at 19:12
  • You're using "perpendicular" rather loosely. In my experience it denotes an angle of 90 (or 270) degrees. But it's possible to sail at a 45 degree angle into the wind, which is in fact why tacking is useful. If you couldn't get closer than 90 degrees, you'd have to wait for the wind direction to change. – phoog Jan 10 '20 at 14:39