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A zephyr is a light, soft, pleasant wind — the kind that just moves your hair or the curtain, never the kind that knocks anything over. The meaning is mostly about gentleness and warmth, so a cold cutting wind would not be called a zephyr even if it were weak.
A zephyr is a light, soft, pleasant windZephyr是一種輕柔、宜人的風 the kind that just moves your hair or the curtain就是那種只會吹動頭髮或窗簾的風 never the kind that knocks anything over絕不是會把東西吹倒的那種。 The meaning is mostly about gentleness and warmth這個字的重點在於溫柔和溫暖 so a cold cutting wind would not be called a zephyr even if it were weak所以就算風很弱，只要是刺骨的冷風，就不會叫zephyr。
This is a literary word. You meet it in poems, in songs, in old novels, in описания of summer evenings — and almost never in ordinary conversation or in a weather report. A friend telling you about the weather would say 'there's a nice breeze'; 'there's a nice zephyr' would sound like a joke, or like someone showing off.
This is a literary word這是個文學用字。 You meet it in poems, in songs, in old novels, in descriptions of summer evenings你會在詩、歌曲、老小說，還有描寫夏夜的文字裡看到它 and almost never in ordinary conversation or in a weather report幾乎不會出現在日常對話或天氣預報裡。 A Taiwanese friend telling you about the weather would say 'there's a nice breeze'台灣朋友跟你講天氣會說'there's a nice breeze'（有不錯的微風） 'there's a nice zephyr' would sound like a joke, or like someone showing off說'there's a nice zephyr'聽起來會像在開玩笑，或是在賣弄。
Knowing it is still useful, because writers like it and because it turns up as a name: cars, boats, sports teams and brands are called Zephyr for exactly that soft-and-swift feeling. Note that the word is a little old-fashioned even in literature now; modern poets use it , partly because it has been used so many times before.
Knowing it is still useful知道這個字還是有用的 because writers like it因為作家喜歡用它 and because it turns up as a name也因為它常被拿來當名字 cars, boats, sports teams and brands are called Zephyr for exactly that soft-and-swift feeling汽車、船、運動隊、品牌會叫Zephyr，就是要那種輕柔又快速的感覺。 Note that the word is a little old-fashioned even in literature now要注意這個字現在連在文學裡都算有點老派 modern poets use it sparingly現代詩人很少用它 partly because it has been used so many times before部分原因是它已經被用過太多次了。
組成From Latin zephyrus, from Greek Zéphuros — in Greek stories, Zephyros was the god of the west wind, the mild wind that brought spring. So the word started as a person's name and became a word for a kind of wind.
原始詞典資料9 筆記錄
以下是外部詞典記錄的用法，原文照列，我們還沒有寫成教學內容。上面的說明才是我們自己寫的；有些用法可能上面已經講過了。
Zephyrname/ˈzɛfɚ/
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human-sciencesmysticismmythologyThe god of the West Wind.
- For a Tempeſt. Take Eurus, Zephyr, Auſter and Boreas, and caſt them together in one Verſe. Add to theſe of Rain, Lightning, and of Thunder (the loudeſt you can) quantum ſufficit. Mix your Clouds and Billows well together till they foam, and thicken your Deſcription here and there with a Quickſand. Brew your Tempeſt well in your Head, before you ſet it a blowing.
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The west wind personified.
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A surname.
- Even as her Republican peers sought to isolate her in the wake of her impassioned comments against a proposed ban on what doctors call gender-affirming medical care for children, Ms. Zephyr said she would not remain idle.
zephyrnoun/ˈzɛfə(ɹ)/
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A light wind from the west.
- The Western [winds] have been Counted the mildest, & most Auspicious of all others; and were so highly in favour with the Poets, that they thought them worthy of the Golden Age, and to refresh the Elysian groves. [...] But though the Breathing Zephyrs are so much celebrated in Poems and Romances, and happily were kinder to the delicious countries of Italy, & Greece, yet wee find no lesse malignity in their natures from particular accidents and climats, then what wee have observ’d of other Winds.
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Any light refreshing wind; a gentle breeze.
- O thou Goddeſſe, / Thou diuine Nature; thou^([sic – meaning how]) thy ſelfe thou blazon'ſt / In theſe two Princely Boyes: they are as gentle / As Zephires blowing below the Violet, / Not wagging his ſweet head; [...]
- The eaſterly or trade winds, which generally blow between the Tropics, are extremely refreſhing to the coaſt of Guiana, between the hours of eight or ten in the morning, and ſix o'clock in the evening, when they ceaſe to operate, and a zephyr is ſcarcely ever heard to whiſper during the night.
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Anything of fine, soft, or light quality, especially fabric.
- The world hummed and spun about him. There was a whirling of zephyr skirts, four impassioned faces sweeping towards the open door of the passage that ran through the vicarage. He felt his position went with them.
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A type of soft confectionery made by whipping fruit and berry purée (mostly apple purée) with sugar and egg whites with subsequent addition of a gelling agent like pectin, carrageenan, agar, or gelatine.
- In 1953 the Russian Republic Ministry of the Food Products Industry increased confectionery output 10% above 1952, including wrapped and packaged confectionery 46%, chocolates 57%, toffee 65%, fruit preserves, pastilles and Zephyrs 20% and halva—by 36%.
- The French not only vastly expanded the Russian repertory of sauces, but they also introduced an entirely new range of light, airy desserts including creams, zephyrs, and mousses.
zephyrverb/ˈzɛfə(ɹ)/
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To blow or move like a zephyr, or light breeze.
- There was a time When the soft zephyring spring came joyfully, Like a young bride, with bloom upon her cheek—
- There was a sudden scrambling and thumping overhead and hot exclamations zephyred down to them.
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To blow or blow on gently like a zephyr; to cool or refresh with a gentle breeze.
- 1849, letter from Leonidas Lent Hamline dated 15 December, 1849, in Walter Clark Palmer, Life and Letters of Leonidas L. Hamline, D.D., New York: Carlton & Porter, 1866, Chapter 15, p. 361, He was a fragrant poison, a zephyred pestilence spread through all the city.
- 1914, Leonard Lanson Cline, untitled sonnet in Poems, Boston: The Poet Lore Company, p. 76, Ah, but the skies are joyous in the spring, From dawn to dusk exuberantly blue; White-tufted oftentimes with clouds that do But wanton in heaven’s zephyred merrying!
資料來源：英文維基詞典 English Wiktionary（CC BY-SA 4.0）。 原文照列，未經改寫。