Har-măt'tan, n.

n. [Fr. harmattan, Sp. harmatan, It. armatano, an Arabic word.] A dry, and generally very hot, wind, from the interior of Africa, which blows in December, January, and February toward the Atlantic Ocean, and is usually accompanied by a haze which obscures the sun. It withers vegetation, and even causes the skin to peel off from the human body.