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Added 9 October 2026

winnow

/ˈwɪnoʊ/ noun

In Latin: ventilo Wiktionary

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

The act of separating grain from chaff.
the winnowing was done by women

verb

Separate the chaff from grain by using air currents.
She stood there winnowing grain all day in the field
Blow on.
The wind was winnowing her hair
Select desirable parts from a group or list.
cull out the interesting letters from the poet's correspondence

Origin

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.

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

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