A weather forecast scale (0-12) used by sailors, or a proper name derived from 'son of Roy.'
Named after Vice-Admiral Robert FitzRoy (1805-1865), a famous British naval officer and meteorologist. 'Fitz' comes from Norman French 'fils' meaning son, commonly used in British surnames. The Beaufort Scale companion chart was named after him to honor his pioneering weather prediction work.
Robert FitzRoy was the captain of the HMS Beagle that carried Charles Darwin on his famous voyage, and he went on to invent weather forecasting as we know it! He created the FitzRoy Scale to help sailors prepare for storms, making the sea dramatically safer. Every time a sailor checks a weather forecast, they're using principles FitzRoy developed almost 200 years ago.
Complete word intelligence in one call. Free tier — 50 lookups/day.