Besides being the name of Babar's monkey friend in the much-beloved picture books about the elephant Babar, a zephyr is a gentle breeze.

In Greek mythology, Zephuros was the god of the west wind, and the bringer of light and early

spring breezes. Zephyr derives from his name. That first day of spring, where suddenly you don't

have to wear your jacket to school for the first time all winter? Thank the zephyr for that.

DEFINITIONS AND USAGE EXAMPLES Pronunciation: zeph·yr \ˈze-fər\

A slight wind, usually refreshing; a gentle, mild breeze

o By evening, the harsh wind following the storm had turned into a zephyr that did nothing more than move

the leaves.

o With only a zephyr in the air, it is not surprising we came in last in the sailboat race.

o When the heavy winds eased to a zephyr, I knew it was going to be a great day for a picnic.

o My wife has put our baby boy down for a nap on our bed; he sleeps in the zephyr of an oscillating fan.

(Literary, proper noun) the west wind

The Greek and Roman god of the west wind, considered the most pleasant of the

winds

Any of various things of fine, light quality as fabric, yarn, etc.

a thin kind of cassimere made in Belgium; also, a waterproof fabric of wool.

Something that is airy, insubstantial, or passing

Directions: Discuss the meaning of the word with your students, with special emphasis on any variations or nuances of the word specific to your discipline. Consider taking it a step further by using one or all of the following ideas as you involve students with the new vocabulary. Remember to preview all content you intend to share with students. Not all items on the lists provided below are appropriate for all classes or age levels.

Zephyr: a tweak for iPhone

Zephyr: a hard-rock, blues-rock, jazz fusion band from Boulder, Colorado

Zephyr: a collection from the Photo Science Library of medical diagnostic imaging techniques

Zephyr: a word processing font

Zephyr: a wind turbine (with math applications!)

Zephyr: as related to music

o Dionne Warwick’s “Hasbrook Heights”

o The Beach Boys’ “That’s Why God Made the Radio”

Mar. 30-Apr. 3, 2015

Zephyr

Word of the Week

Noun

(Computer Tech./General Interest)

Read about this technological tweak for iPhone with your students—watch the video and read the related articles. Then consider discussing with them WHY this tweak is called Zephyr. Based on the definitions given above, what characteristics does this tweak have that would warrant the name Zephyr?

Jan 2, 2012 - Zephyr is an awesome new tweak by chpwn to add swipe gestures to your iPhone. It's really

easy to use, works with pretty much everything out there.

Zephyr’s features:

Swipe from app to app with just a single swipe.

Swipe up from the bottom to see your app switcher.

Smooth, accurate gesture recognition and finger tracking.

Tons of options: choose how many fingers to use, what apps and when the gestures work, etc.

Here’s a video demo of Zephyr, to see what you can do:

http://www.imore.com/handson-zephyr-iphone-ipod-touch-jailbreak

“Zephyr is . . . [a] must-have jailbreak tweaks for iPhone.” However, “after chatting with Zephyr developer

Grant Paul (aka chpwn), I was told that there were no plans at this time to update the tweak for iOS 7. So

I decided to make the best I could with what I have: Activator by Ryan Petrich…

http://www.idownloadblog.com/2014/01/08/activator-zephyr/

Click here to read the blog

from The Denver Post:

“Remembering Candy Givens

and Zephyr.” (17 June 2014)

Click here to read the history of

Zephyr

(Music/Local Interest)

Candy Givens was the lead singer for

Zephyr, her husband David Givens

played bass guitar. The band was

formed by lead-guitarist Tommy Bolin

(James Gang, Moxy, Deep Purple).

The band also featured keyboardist

John Faris and Robbie Chamberlin on

drums. Zephyr was early in Tommy

Bolins short career.

Both Candy Givens and Tommy Bolin

tragically died very young of drug-

related, unglamorous deaths. Bolin’s

speed on the guitar is reminiscent of

Liberace on the piano. Although no

official count exists (yet) on Bolin's

guitar speed, it is way up their in sheer number of notes per minute

(Liberace played up to about 6000 separate notes in 2 minutes).

Both Candy Given's singing and Bolin's lead-guitar work were punctuated by a stellar band. Candy Given's is

often compared to Janis Joplin, she is still referred to as a tiny little lady with a big, big voice. Bolin later

replaced Deep Purple's Ritchie Blackmoor as Deep Purple's Lead Guitarist, as well as doing solo albums such

as Teaser and Private Eyes.

When Bolin left Zephyr he was replaced by Jock Bartley. Zephyr went on performing with various artists after

Bolin and Bartley's departures, until Candy Given's death in 1984.

Zephyr is one of the few bands that took rock/blues/jazz fusion and totally made it work. The sound of Zephyr

is one of the most unique sounds of any band; Bolin is frequently compared to Page, Santana, Peter Green,

Clapton, Jimi Hendrix, Jeff Beck, Orianthi Panagaris, Larry Carlton, Robben Ford and Tallan Noble Latz, BB

King, Buddy Miles, Stevie Ray Vaughn, etc., (all rock/blues/jazz greats).

Read about the history of the band, and listen to the song below. Then, consider discussing with your

students why the band might have chosen the name Zephyr for themselves.

Click here to hear Zephyr’s

“Going Back to Colorado”

(Science/Photography/Computer Tech.)

The Zephyr Collection http://www.sciencephoto.com/set/2643/the-zephyr-collection The Zephyr collection contains many different medical diagnostic imaging techniques, including x-ray, magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), computer tomography (CT), light microscopy and endoscopy. The collection is also available in black and white.

View all of our images from the Zephyr collection here

Read the description of the Zephyr

collection and look at several of the

images. Then consider discussing with

your students why this

collection/technology is called the

Zephyr collection.

(Design/Art/English)

Check out the Zephyr font!

Have your students analyze the design of

the font—what characteristics does it have

that would warrant its being called zephyr?

How are the qualities of a zephyr illustrated by this font?

For an additional challenge, discuss the fact

that the Twilight series book titles are all in

Zephyr font. Have students indulge in some

creative brainstorming as to what possible

symbolism there might be in using this font for

the title of these books—have them consider

plot, characters, and theme in their analyses.

(Science/Math)

https://www.zephyreco.co.jp/en/products/airdolphin_make-zero_pro.jsp

Discuss the name of this wind turbine with students. Why Zephyr? What nuances does that name have that would not be captured by Wind?

Have math students use the data above to create their own word problems for each other to solve, or have them finish the annual energy production projection for 9, 10 , and 11 m/s.

(Music/General Interest)

“Hasbrook Heights” -- Burt Bacharach and Hal David “create a zephyr that sweeps you off your feet as a performer. Everything is in the melody and lyric. You just have to sing it as it's written.”

The song was originally written and recorded by Burt Bacharach himself in 1971, but its best-known version can be found on Dionne Warwick's 1972 album Dionne. It's not quite clear whether the location is an actual place: there's a Hasbrouck Heights in New Jersey, where some believe Bacharach lived. Still, Hasbrook Heights retains a kind of dreamy quality, where the lyrics invite you to ‘come rest up / Bring along your swimsuit / That's how we get dressed up’. The song is inviting you to get away to a better place, somewhere you can relax – whether it's a fantasy or not.”

Click here for more of this story

Listen to Bacharach’s version of the song, or Dionne Warwick’s (or both), and discuss the assertion that both the melody and the lyrics “create a zephyr that sweeps you off your feet as a performer.”

Discuss the melody and the lyrics separately—how does each embody the characteristics of a zephyr?

How is the experience different for a performer vs. a listener?

(Music/General Interest)

The Beach Boys’ new album, “That’s Why God Made the Radio” (Capitol Records),

… has at least one great, catchy, sophisticated song — the title track. It’s the clear

standout, with a Brian Wilson chord progression made almost entirely of left turns,

and vocal harmonies gliding like zephyrs.

Bob Boilen at National Public Radio called it

the best Beach Boys song in 40 years.

Beach Boys still singing like angels

Listen to the song with your students and have them pick out some of their favorite vocal harmonies,

especially the ones that “glide like zephyrs.” Have them use characteristics from the definitions of

zephyr to support their choices.