/ ˈbəʊfət skeɪl; NAmE ˈboʊfərt/ noun
[ sing. ] a range of numbers used for measuring how strongly the wind is blowing. The lowest number 0 means that there is no wind and the highest number 12 means that there is a hurricane (= a violent storm with very strong winds) :
The storm measured 10 on the Beaufort scale .
ORIGIN: From Sir Francis Beaufort, the English admiral who invented it.
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WORD ORIGIN
mid 19th cent.: named after Sir Francis Beaufort (1774–1857), the English admiral and naval hydrographer who devised it.