/boh"feuhrt/ , (no longer in technical use)
1. a scale of wind forces, described by name and range of velocity, and classified as from force 0 to force 12, or, sometimes, to force 17.
2. a scale of the states of sea created by winds of these various forces up to and including force 10.
[ 1855-60; named after Sir Francis Beaufort (1774-1857), British admiral who devised it ]