wind English · revision 2857

+ English has two words spelled ''wind'': moving air, pronounced /wɪnd/, and “to turn, twist”, pronounced /waɪnd/.^(Barnhart 1988)^(MWU 2024)^(Roach et al. 2011)

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+ {{homograph|1|air}}

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+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=inherited|attested=c. 725, Beowulf|origins=ine-pro *we-}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: /wɪnd/^(Roach et al. 2011)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[inh|enm|wind]], [[inh|ang|wind]],^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988) from [[gem-pro|*windaz|alt=*winda-]],^(Etymonline) the source also of Old Saxon and Dutch wind, Old High German wint (German Wind), Old Norse vindr and Gothic winds.^(Barnhart 1988)^(Hoad 1986) It is from [[ine-pro|*wē-nt-o-|t=blowing]], a participial form of [[ine-pro|*we-|t=to blow]],^(Etymonline) which also gave Latin ventus and Welsh gwynt.^(Barnhart 1988)^(Hoad 1986) The verb, “to expose to air” and later “to put out of breath”, is from the noun.^(Etymonline)^(MWU 2024)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ Air in natural motion: about 725, in ''Beowulf'',^(Barnhart 1988) and the OED, by the direction it blows from, also from about 725.^(OED 1989)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ From about 1200 the wind was a symbol of emptiness and vanity, and in Middle English also of swiftness and changeability.^(Etymonline) The wind as what drives a sailing ship is from about 900.^(OED 1989) The normal sound change made the word rhyme with ''kind'' (Donne rhymes it with ''mind''), but it changed to a short vowel in the 18th century, probably under the influence of ''windy''.^(Etymonline) A ''windfall'' was first fruit blown down by the wind (15th century), then an unexpected gain (16th).^(Hoad 1986) ''To get wind of'', from a hunted animal catching the scent of the hunter, is from the mid-19th century.^(Cresswell 2021) The verb meant “to expose to the wind” from the mid-13th century, “to scent”, of animals, by about 1400,^(Etymonline) and “to sound a horn” by the 1580s.^(Etymonline) “To put out of breath” is from the late 15th century, and in boxing, of a punch in the stomach, from 1802.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * c. 725 – moving air.^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * c. 900 – the wind that drives a ship.^(OED 1989)

+ * c. 1200 – symbol of emptiness.^(Etymonline)

+ * mid-13th century – verb, to expose to the wind.^(Etymonline)

+ * c. 1400 – verb, to scent.^(Etymonline)

+ * 16th century – ''windfall'', an unexpected gain.^(Hoad 1986)

+ * 18th century – the short vowel.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1802 – verb, to wind with a punch.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Noun===

+ # A natural movement of [[air]], especially along the ground.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)

+ # Air moved by a [[fan]] or bellows.^(AHD)

+ # Breath, or the ability to breathe: ''lose one's wind''.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)

+ # Gas in the stomach or intestines.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)

+ # Empty talk.^(AHD)^(Etymonline)

+ # ''(music)'' The [[woodwind]] and brass instruments of an orchestra.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)

+

+ ===Verb===

+ # To make short of breath: ''the climb winded him''.^(AHD)^(Etymonline)

+ # To catch the scent of.^(AHD)^(Etymonline)

+ # To expose to the air.^(AHD)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[windy]]

+ * [[windmill]]

+ * [[windfall]]

+ * [[windpipe]]

+ * [[windward]]

+ * [[windbreak]]

+ * [[winnow]]

+ * [[window]]

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+ {{homograph|2|turn}}

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+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=inherited|attested=c. 725, Beowulf|origins=ine-pro *wendh-}}

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+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: /waɪnd/^(Roach et al. 2011)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[inh|enm|winden]],^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988) [[inh|ang|windan|t=to turn, twist, plait, brandish]],^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988) from [[gem-pro|*windaną|alt=*windan]],^(Etymonline) the source also of Old Saxon windan, Dutch winden, Old High German wintan (German winden), Old Norse vinda and Gothic biwindan “to wind around”,^(Barnhart 1988)^(MWU 2024) from [[ine-pro|*wendh-|t=to turn, wind, weave]].^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988) It is related to [[wander]], and [[wend]] is its causative.^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ Old English windan, about 725 in ''Beowulf'';^(Barnhart 1988) in the OED's first example, about 897, it expresses rapid or forcible motion, as of flowing water.^(OED 1989) Middle English winden is from about 1175.^(Barnhart 1988)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ The Old English verb meant to move in a certain direction;^(Hoad 1986) in Middle English it is not always clear whether it or ''wend'' is meant.^(Etymonline) To move in a circular or winding path is from the 13th century,^(Hoad 1986) to pass something round something else from the 14th,^(Hoad 1986) and to set a mechanism going by winding, as a clock, from the 17th.^(Hoad 1986) The noun, an apparatus for winding, is from 1399, and a bend or twist from 1825.^(OED 1989)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * c. 725 – Old English windan.^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * 13th century – to move in a circular path.^(Hoad 1986)

+ * 14th century – to pass round something.^(Hoad 1986)

+ * 1399 – noun, a winch.^(OED 1989)

+ * 17th century – to wind a clock.^(Hoad 1986)

+ * 1825 – noun, a bend or twist.^(OED 1989)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Verb===

+ # To wrap something around itself or another thing; to [[coil]].^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)

+ # To turn a [[crank]] or key, as to tighten a spring: ''wind a clock''.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)

+ # To move or go along a twisting course: ''the road winds through the hills''.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)

+

+ ===Noun===

+ # A single turn or bend.^(AHD)^(OED 1989)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[winder]]

+ * [[winding]]

+ * [[wind up]]

+ * [[unwind]]

+ * [[rewind]]

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+ ==Related words==

+ * [[wend]]

+ * [[vent]]

+ * [[ventilate]]

+ * [[weather]]

+ * [[wander]]

+ * [[wand]]

+ * [[widdershins]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}