Johny Johnson, age 11, of Phoenix, Ariz.., for his question:
How did the trade winds get their name?
The word trade has spread far afield from its original meaning. At first a trade was a track or a course, a path or a way somewhat like a trodden trail. Later it came to mean the accepted way of doing something. A baker learned the trade of making bread. A merchant practiced the trade of exchanging goods and money. Then trading ships followed trade routes to trade with faraway places.
On the trade routes of the tropics, the sailing ships found certain steady winds and named them the trades. The original meaning of trade was a regular path, and these winds follow a regular path. However, it is more likely that they were named from a later meaning of the word trade. These dependable winds were very helpful to traders and trading ships.