winnow
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winnow
- /ˈwɪnoʊ/ US
- /ˈwɪnəʊ/ UK
Rhymes with -ɪnəʊ
Where it comes from
From Middle English wyndwen, from Old English windwian (“to winnow, fan, ventilate”), from Proto-West Germanic *windwōn, from Proto-Germanic *windwōną, *winþijaną (“to throw about, winnow”), from Proto-Indo-European *wē- (“to winnow, thresh”). Cognate with West Frisian wynje (“to winnow”), dialectal Dutch winden, winnen (“to winnow”), Middle High German winden (“to winnow”), Icelandic vinsa (“to pick out, weed”), Latin vannus (“a winnowing basket”). See fan, van.
verb winnows · winnowing · winnowed
-
To subject (granular material, especially food grain) to a current of air separating heavier and lighter components, as grain from chaff.
By Jacob Behel, of Mifflintown, Pa.,—Improvement in winnowing Machines, Patented August 21, 1847.
Similar: wind
-
To separate, sift, analyse, or test by separating items having different values.
They winnowed the field to twelve.
Similar: comb out
- To blow upon or toss about by blowing; to set in motion as with a fan or wings. The light snow lay on the narrow and winding path before them, pure as if just fresh winnowed by the wind.
- To move about with a flapping motion, as of wings; to flutter.
noun winnows
- That which winnows or which is used in winnowing; a contrivance for fanning or winnowing grain.
- The act of winnowing
Translations
Every language
verb to separate the heavier and lighter with a current of air
| Español | ahechar, cribar |
|---|---|
| 中文 | 簸 bǒ |
| Português | joeirar |
| Français | vanner |
| Deutsch | worfeln, windsichten, trennen |
| Русский | ве́ять véjatʹ, отве́ивать otvéivatʹ, отве́ять otvéjatʹ |
| Tiếng Việt | sàng |
| العربية | ذَرَّى ḏarrā, نَسَفَ nasafa |
| עברית | זָרָה zara |
verb figuratively: to separate, sift, analyze, test
| Español | separar, cribar, hacer la criba, separar el grano de la paja |
|---|---|
| Português | joeirar |
| Français | séparer |
| Deutsch | trennen, separieren, aussortieren, sichten |
Talk about this word "winnow." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/winnow. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026. winnow. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/winnow "winnow." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/winnow.Cite this
@misc{winnow_2026,
title = {winnow},
howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
year = {2026},
url = {https://micwyn.com/word/winnow},
urldate = {2026-11-06}
}
