Etymologically
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wine

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Pronunciation

  • IPA: /waɪn/[1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Middle English win,[2] inherited from Old English wīn,[3][4][5] from Proto-Germanic *wīnam,[3][5] an early borrowing from Latin vīnum (“wine”),[3][4][5] which is also the source of Old Saxon and Old High German wīn (German Wein), Dutch wijn, Old Norse vín and Gothic wein.[4][5] The Latin word is related to Ancient Greek οἶνος (oînos, “wine”), Albanian vēne and Armenian gini,[4][3] and to Hittite and to non-Indo-European words such as Georgian and West Semitic ones (Hebrew yayin).[3] Watkins takes it as probably from a lost Mediterranean word *win-, *woin-;[3] Beekes argues for an Indo-European origin, connecting Latin vītis “vine” and the root Proto-Indo-European *wei- (“to turn, bend”).[3][4] Latin vīnum also gave Old Church Slavonic vino, Lithuanian vynas and Welsh gwin.[3][4]

Earliest recorded meaning

The fermented juice of the grape: about 725, in Beowulf,[4] and in the OED from 805–31.[6] As one of the elements of the Eucharist it is from about 1005.[6]

Semantic evolution

A fermented drink made from other fruits or plants, usually with a qualifying word, is from 1398.[6] In pharmacy a medicinal solution in wine is from 1652.[6] Wine as the usual accompaniment of dessert is from 1824.[6] The verb was first “to spend in drinking wine”, in the 1620s,[3] then “to entertain with wine” from 1862,[3] or 1829 for the intransitive sense in Merriam-Webster.[2] Wine and vine are at heart the same word, and the Latin word also gave vinegar and vintage.[7]

Timeline

  • c. 725 – in Beowulf.[4]
  • c. 1005 – the Eucharistic wine.[6]
  • 1398 – wine of other fruits.[6]
  • 16th century – winebibber, winepress.[5]
  • 1620s – verb, to spend in drinking wine.[3]
  • 1652 – a medicinal wine.[6]
  • 1862 – to entertain with wine.[3]

Modern meaning

Noun

  1. An alcoholic drink made from the fermented juice of grapes.
  2. A similar drink made from other fruits or plants: dandelion wine.
  3. Something that intoxicates or invigorates.
  4. A dark red colour.

Verb

  1. To entertain with wine: to wine and dine.

Word family

  • wineless
  • winish
  • winegrowing
  • winemaker
  • winemaking
  • wineshop
  • wineberry
  • winebibber
  • vine
  • vinegar
  • vintage
  • vineyard
  • oenology

References

  1. ^ Jones, Daniel (2011), Cambridge English Pronouncing Dictionary, 18th ed., ed. Peter Roach, Jane Setter and John Esling, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press
  2. ^ a b Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  4. ^ a b c d e f g h Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
  5. ^ a b c d e Hoad, T. F., ed. (1986), The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  6. ^ a b c d e f g h Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press
  7. ^ Cresswell, Julia (2021), Oxford Dictionary of Word Origins, 3rd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press