section_path: Etymology
section_name: Etymology
paragraph_text: Etymology
  
  The word tornado comes from the Spanish tronada (meaning 'thunderstorm', past participle of tronar 'to thunder', itself in turn from the Latin tonāre 'to thunder'). The metathesis of the r and o in the English spelling was influenced by the Spanish tornado (past participle of tornar 'to twist, turn,', from Latin tornō 'to turn'). The English word has been reborrowed into Spanish, referring to the same weather phenomenon.
  
  Tornadoes' opposite phenomena are the widespread, straight-line derechos (/ d ə ˈ r eɪ tʃ oʊ /, from Spanish: derecho Spanish pronunciation:, 'straight'). A tornado is also commonly referred to as a "twister" or the old-fashioned colloquial term cyclone.