  Context. Red supergiants are observed to undergo vigorous mass-loss. However,
to date, no theoretical model has succeeded in explaining the origins of these
objects' winds. This strongly limits our understanding of red supergiant
evolution and Type II-P and II-L supernova progenitor properties.
  Aims. We examine the role that vigorous atmospheric turbulence may play in
initiating and determining the mass-loss rates of red supergiant stars.
  Methods. We analytically and numerically solve the equations of conservation
of mass and momentum, which we later couple to an atmospheric temperature
structure, to obtain theoretically motivated mass-loss rates. We then compare
these to state-of-the-art empirical mass-loss rate scaling formulae as well as
observationally inferred mass-loss rates of red supergiants.
  Results. We find that the pressure due to the characteristic turbulent
velocities inferred for red supergiants is sufficient to explain the mass-loss
rates of these objects in the absence of the normally employed opacity from
circumstellar dust. Motivated by this initial success, we provide a first
theoretical and fully analytic mass-loss rate prescription for red supergiants.
We conclude by highlighting some intriguing possible implications of these
rates for future studies of stellar evolution, especially in light of the lack
of a direct dependence on metallicity.
