Etymology

From German Taifun. Possibly of Chinese origin, Mandarin 大风 ‎(dàfēng, “big wind”), Cantonese 大風 ‎(daai⁶ fung¹, “big wind”), also similarly found in Arabic طوفان ‎(ţūfān), the latter from Ancient Greek τυφῶν ‎(tuphôn). Given the location of typhoons as a Pacific Ocean phenomena, it is more likely it began east and moved west.