wing

Pronunciation

• IPA: /wɪŋ/^[1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Middle English wenge, at first in the plural,^[2][3][4] borrowed from Old Norse vængr (“wing of a bird; aisle”), plural vængir,^[2][5][4] cognate with Danish and Swedish vinge.^[2][6] The Norse word is of unknown origin,^[2][3] perhaps from Proto-Germanic *we-ingjaz, from Proto-Indo-European *we- (“to blow”),^[2][6] the root of wind and of Old English wāwan “to blow”.^[2][6] It replaced Old English feþra, plural of feþer, the source of feather.^[2][7][8]

Earliest recorded meaning

The organ of flight of a bird, bat or insect: about 1175 in the OED, Barnhart and Etymonline.^[9][3][2]

Semantic evolution

Wings were given to angels and fabulous creatures from about 1200,^[9] and figuratively it meant protection, care, from the 14th century, as in under someone's wing.^[5][2] The wing of a bird as food is from about 1470.^[9] Either of the two divisions of an army is from about 1400, later extended to factions and political parties;^[2][3] a part of a building projecting from the main part is from 1523;^[3][2] and the side scenes of a theatre stage from about 1790.^[2] The verb meant at first to carve a quail or partridge, in the Book of St Albans, 1486;^[3][9] to take flight is from 1605 in Shakespeare's King Lear,^[3] and to shoot a bird in the wing from 1802.^[2] Wing it, to improvise, is from 1885 and is said to come from the theatre, of an actor who learned his part in the wings or relied on a prompter there.^[2][8] Earn one's wings, from the badges given to air cadets, is from the 1940s,^[2] and on a wing and a prayer is from a song of 1942 about a damaged bomber coming in to land.^[2]

Timeline

• c. 1175 – an organ of flight.^[9][3]
• c. 1200 – the wings of angels.^[9]
• c. 1400 – a division of an army.^[2][3]
• c. 1470 – a wing as food.^[9]
• 1486 – verb, to carve a bird.^[3][9]
• 1523 – a wing of a building.^[3]
• 1605 – verb, to fly.^[3]
• c. 1790 – the wings of a stage.^[2]
• 1802 – to shoot in the wing.^[2]
• 1885 – wing it.^[2]
• 1942 – on a wing and a prayer.^[2]

Modern meaning

Noun

1. One of the paired limbs or organs by which a bird, bat or insect flies.
2. Either of the long structures on each side of an aircraft that support it in the air.
3. A part of a building projecting from the main part.
4. A faction within a party or group: the left wing.
5. wings: the area at either side of a stage, out of sight of the audience.
6. In sport, a player on either side of the field, or that position.
7. (British) The fender of a car.
8. An air force unit made up of several squadrons.

Verb

1. To fly, or to travel as if flying.
2. To wound in the wing or arm.
3. To do without preparation; to improvise: wing it.
4. To fit with wings.

Word family

• wingy

Related words

• winged
• wingspan
• wind
• feather

Usage notes

In Shetland, wing was also bait cut from the belly of a fish near the gills.^[10]

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 c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
4. ^ a b Pearsall, Judy, ed. (1998), The New Oxford Dictionary of English, Oxford: Clarendon Press
5. ^ a b Hoad, T. F., ed. (1986), The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology, Oxford: Clarendon Press
6. ^ a b c Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
7. ^ Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press
8. ^ a b Cresswell, Julia (2021), Oxford Dictionary of Word Origins, 3rd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
9. ^ 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
10. ^ Wright, Joseph, ed. (1898–1905), The English Dialect Dictionary, 6 vols., Oxford: Henry Frowde; via EDD Online 4.0, University of Innsbruck (CC BY 4.0)