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amainar

to abate

verb ah-mah-ee-NAHR Rare
Animals & Nature Weather

Origin: From nautical language, likely from Catalan or Occitan 'amainar', related to 'amaine' meaning to lower sails.

Also means

to ease

Usage Note

Amainar originates in nautical vocabulary — literally to lower the sails in a storm — and it is now used figuratively for any intensity that diminishes: wind, rain, anger, or conflict. It is most often found in weather reporting and literary prose. The subject is typically a natural force or an emotion: el temporal amainó ('the storm eased'). It is rarely used in everyday colloquial speech, which tends to prefer calmarse or bajar.

Examples

"El viento comenzó a amainar al atardecer."

Natural Translation

The wind began to abate at dusk.

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