wine

[wahyn]

noun

1. the fermented juice of grapes, made in many varieties, such as red, white, sweet, dry, still, and sparkling, for use as a beverage, in cooking, in religious rites, etc., and usually having an alcoholic content of 14 percent or less.

2. a particular variety of such fermented grape juice.

   port and sherry wines.

3. the juice, fermented or unfermented, of various other fruits or plants, used as a beverage, sauce, etc..

   gooseberry wine; currant wine.

4. a dark reddish color, as of red wines.

5. Pharmacology.,  vinum.

6. something that invigorates, cheers, or intoxicates like wine.

7. British.

   1. a social gathering at which wine is the major beverage.

   2. a party, especially one held by university students, for drinking wine.

8. Obsolete.,  intoxication due to the drinking of wine.

adjective

1. dark red in color.

verb (used with object)

wined, wining 

1. to supply with wine.

   He wined his cellar with rare vintages.

verb (used without object)

wined, wining 

1. to drink wine.

wine

/ waɪn /

noun

1. 1. an alcoholic drink produced by the fermenting of grapes with water and sugar

   2. an alcoholic drink produced in this way from other fruits, flowers, etc

      elderberry wine

2. 1. a dark red colour, sometimes with a purplish tinge

   2. ( as adjective )

      wine-coloured

3. anything resembling wine in its intoxicating or invigorating effect

4. obsolete,  pharmacol fermented grape juice containing medicaments

5. a dialect word for water

6. something new added to or imposed upon an old or established order

verb

1. (intr) to drink wine

2. to entertain or be entertained with wine and fine food

Other Word Forms

• wineless adjective
• winish adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of wine¹

First recorded before 900; Middle English (noun), Old English wīn (cognate with Dutch wijn, German Wein, Old Norse vīn, Gothic wein ), ultimately derived from Latin vīnum (cognate with Greek oînos )

Word History and Origins

Origin of wine¹

Old English wīn, from Latin vīnum; related to Greek oinos, of obscure origin

Idioms and Phrases

Idioms

1. new wine in old bottles, something new placed in or superimposed on an old or existing form, system, etc. Matthew 9:17.

2. wine and dine, to entertain lavishly.

   They wined and dined us in order to get us to sign the new contract.

Example Sentences

In Homer’s “The Odyssey,” for instance, a bridge to the spirit world is reached only after a complex series of sacrifices and offerings — a potent mix of sweet wine and the blood of a lamb.

From Los Angeles Times

The years away from making new music and the experiences of life, both joyful and scarring, have refined her voice like a barrel-aged wine.

From Los Angeles Times

Its lavish, privately funded $73-million Performing Arts Center is the showpiece, where only white wine is sold, lest a splash of red stain the carpeting.

From Los Angeles Times

Hiking is popular here, for example along the Camino de Santiago trail or in the area's mountain ranges, as is wine and food related tourism.

From BBC

The state banquet is the spectacular showstopper of a state visit, a glittering feast with speeches, royal toasts, trumpet fanfares and fancy food and wine.

From BBC

Related Words

• color 
• lavender 
• lilac 
• mauve 
• periwinkle 
• plum 
• violet