vin

Vin- is a combining form used like a prefix meaning “wine.” It is used in a few scientific terms connected to wine-making.

Vin- comes from the Latin vīnum, meaning “wine.” The English word wine also ultimately comes from the Latin vīnum.

Vin- is a variant of vini- or vino-, and may be used when combined with words or word elements beginning with vowels.

Want to know more? Read our Words That Use vino- and Words That Use vini- articles.

While vin- is not widely used as combining form, knowing its meaning certainly helps make it easier to grasp a lot of other words that share a root in the Latin vīnum, wine.”

For instance, vinaceous means “of, relating to, or resembling wine or grapes.” Learn more about the suffix -aceous at our entry for the form.

Vinaceous is a great color adjective, too, and can also refer to something that is the color of red wine—like burgundy, which is also the name of a type of red wine.

Some other adjectives for referring to wine include vineal and vinic. Like vin- and vinaceous, they derive from the Latin vīnum. So does the word vine!

What are some other forms that vin- may be commonly confused with?

• veni-
• vene-
• veno-
• vivi-

The combining form -ery is used to denote a place or establishment, among other meanings. What, then, is a vinery?