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sift

/sɪft/ verb

In Latin: cribrō Wiktionary

verb Definition from WordNet 3.1, Princeton University. Pronunciation from Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org. More about sift at Wordnik → Where our words come from →

  1. Move as if through a sieve.
    The soldiers sifted through the woods
  2. Separate by passing through a sieve or other straining device to separate out coarser elements.
    sift the flour
  3. Check and sort carefully.
    sift the information

Origin

From Middle English syften, from Old English siftan, from Proto-West Germanic *siftijan.

From Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org (CC BY-SA)