závan

Závan is a Czech noun meaning a brief movement of air felt as a breath or gust. It describes a light breeze or current of air that touches the skin, or, metaphorically, a hint or trace of something, such as a závan zimy (a whiff of winter) or závan vůně (a whiff of fragrance). The word is masculine in gender and used in both prose and poetry, appearing in dictionaries and general-language texts. Its etymology is not definitively established; it is considered a native Slavic term, with cognates in related languages that express a sense of breath or wind.

In usage, závan can replace more literal words like dech or vítr when a softer, more atmospheric nuance is intended. It often appears in literary descriptions to evoke atmosphere rather than to quantify air movement. Common collocations include závan větru, závan chladu, and závan vůně.

See also: dech, vítr, víření.