What do you call free-flowing air between windows?

[Glizdka]

Suppose my house reeks of something foul, like a rotting carcass, and I want to get rid of the stench as fast as possible. I could open a window, which would allow the air inside to mix a bit with the fresh air outside, but if I want to do it right, I can open two windows on the opposite sides of the house so that the air can move freely between them forming a continuous stream. What do you call that in English?

We have a word for it in Polish, a noun, that roughly translates to something between drag, thrust, and surge.

 

[Rover_KE]

In BE, a through-draught; in AE a through-draft (I think).

(See The Draughty Room by Dora Jarre.)

 

[GoesStation]

I don't know a term for the moving air, but the provision of it is called cross-ventilation in American English.

 

[tedmc]

I don't know a term for the moving air, but the provision of it is called cross-ventilation in American English.

That is what it is called in architecture - the free flow of air through an internal space created by having openings on the opposite walls.

 

[Glizdka]

I think draught might be what I'm looking for. It depends on whether this works:

During this scorching hot summer, I have my windows open pretty much all the time. A friend walks into my house, leaving the door open behind them. I tell them "Close the door. You're causing draught" just before the door slams shut.

 

[probus]

I think a draught is right although we spell it draft on this side of the Atlantic. (Note the indefinite article.)

 

[GoesStation]

I tell them "Close the door. You're causing a draught/draft [US]" just before the door slams shut.

That works, but it's not specifically about a cross-draft. That term just came to me and may be what OP is looking for.

 

[tedmc]

A draught is cool air current that comes through a space, usually in an undesirable way, through openings which are left open.

In the context of the original post, I would say you opened the windows to allow better ventilation and dissipation/escape of the smell. I wouldn't talk about draught or cross ventilation.

 

[5jj]

In that situation I would probably use Rover's through-draught.

 

[emsr2d2]

In that situation I would probably use Rover's through-draught.

As would I. It can get quite stuffy where I work and we frequently open both the front door and the back door (it's one long room) to create a through-draught. It cools the place down and gets us some much-needed fresh air.

 

[Rover_KE]

That works as long as you remember to wedge any inner doors open or they'll slam shut with an alarming bang.

 

[Tdol]

Or just a draught.

 

[probus]

I've never encountered through-draught or through-draft. I don't think it exists in AmE.

 

[Skrej]

I think somebody already mentioned it, but I'm sure it's what we'd call a cross-draft in AmE.

It may just be my family, but we often refer to it as a cross-breeze, instead of a cross-draft. That may just have been wishful/optimistic thinking, too. :-D

 

[Charlie Bernstein]

In that situation I would probably use Rover's through-draught.

It's not natural in the U.S. Goes' "cross-ventilation" or "cross-ventilated" would mean more to Americans.

 

[tedmc]

I think we open windows simply to let fresh air/ventilation in and the smell out. How the air moves doesn't matter.

 

[emsr2d2]

I think we open windows simply to let fresh air/ventilation in and the smell out. How the air moves doesn't matter.

It does make a difference, though. If I cook something with a particularly strong smell (garlic, for example) and the smell pervades my entire flat, I need to do more than just open the kitchen window in order for the smell to clear, especially if I want that to happen fast. If I open a living room window (at the front of the flat), the kitchen window (on the side) and a bedroom window (at the back of the building), I create a through-draught that moves the air much more effectively and gets rid of the smell a lot faster.

(I love the smell of garlic so I would never actually do the above to get rid of that delicious smell!)

 

[tedmc]

It is only common sense that the more windows you open, the faster smell goes away.

 

[emsr2d2]

It is only common sense that the more windows you open, the faster the smell goes away.

I wouldn't say that that constitutes "common sense". It does make sense. However, you said in your previous post that "how the air moves doesn't matter". I disagree. It does matter.

 

[canadalynx]

The movement of air hinges on the pressure differences.

If someone passed gas in front of me, I wouldn't want the wind to blow in my direction.