El Niño
Concise Oxford English Dictionary © 2008 Oxford University Press:
El Niño /ɛl ˈniːnjəʊ/
▶noun (pl. El Niños) an irregularly occurring and complex series of climatic changes affecting the equatorial Pacific region and beyond every few years, characterized by the appearance of unusually warm, nutrient-poor water off northern Peru and Ecuador.
– origin Sp., lit. ‘the (Christ) child’, because of its occurrence around Christmas time.
'El Niño' also found in these Oxford entries:
