(ˌ)elˈnēnyō noun
( plural el niños )
Usage: capitalized E&N
Etymology: Spanish, literally, the child (i.e., the Christ child); from the appearance of the flow at the Christmas season
: an irregularly recurring flow of unusually warm surface waters from the Pacific ocean toward and along the western coast of South America that prevents upwelling of nutrient-rich cold deep water and that disrupts typical regional and global weather patterns — compare la niña herein