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Added 10 October 2026

whine

/ˈwaɪ̯n/ noun

Categories: LanguageRare Words

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

  1. A complaint uttered in a plaintive whining way.

verb

  1. Move with a whining sound.
    The bullets were whining past us
  2. Talk in a tearful manner.
  3. Make a high-pitched, screeching noise.
    The door creaked when I opened it slowly

Origin

From Middle English whynen, hwinen, whinen, from Old English hwīnan (“to rush, to whizz, to squeal, to whine”), from Proto-West Germanic *hwīnan, from Proto-Germanic *hwīnaną, from Proto-Indo-European *ḱwey- (“to hiss, whistle, whisper”). Cognate with Old Norse hvína, whence Icelandic hvína, Norwegian Nynorsk kvina, Swedish vina, and Danish hvine. Despite the strong similarity in sound and meaning, not related with German weinen, Dutch wenen, from Proto-Germanic *wainōną (for which see dialectal English ween (“to weep, lament”)).

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

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