Emily Dickinson Lexicon

BREEZE, n.² [It. brezza, a cold windy mist; Sp. brisa, a breeze; Sw. brusa, to be fervid, to boil, to murmur; Dan. bruser, to rush, roar or foam, to rise in waves; bruusen, the rustling of the wind, a humming or buzzing, fermentation. In French sea language, brise, a breeze; Gr. βραζω, and βρασσω, to boil; Fr. brasser, to brew; W. brys, hasty, from rhys, a rushing. These words seem all to have a common root. See Rush.]

1. A light wind; a gentle gale. From land a gentle breeze arose at night. – Dryden.
2. A shifting wind, that blows from the sea or from the land, for a certain time, by night or by day. Such breezes are common in the tropical regions, and in a good degree regular. The wind from the sea is called a sea breeze, and that from the land, a land breeze. In general, the sea breeze blows in the day time, and the land breeze at night. The like breezes are common, in the summer months, in the temperate latitudes.