winnow

[ win-oh ]

/ ˈwɪn oʊ /

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verb (used with object)

to free (grain) from the lighter particles of chaff, dirt, etc., especially by throwing it into the air and allowing the wind or a forced current of air to blow away impurities.

to drive or blow (chaff, dirt, etc.) away by fanning.

to blow upon; fan.

to subject to some process of separating or distinguishing; analyze critically; sift: to winnow a mass of statements.

to separate or distinguish (valuable from worthless parts) (sometimes followed by out): to winnow falsehood from truth.

to pursue (a course) with flapping wings in flying.

to fan or stir (the air) as with the wings in flying.

verb (used without object)

to free grain from chaff by wind or driven air.

to fly with flapping wings; flutter.

noun

a device or contrivance used for winnowing.

an act of winnowing.

RELATED WORDS

stir, fan, scatter, puff

Nearby words

winnipegosis, winnipegosis, lake, winnipesaukee, winnipesaukee, lake, winnock, winnow, winnowing, winny, wino, winona, winslet

Origin of winnow

before 900; Middle English win(d)wen (v.), Old English windwian, derivative of wind wind¹

Related formswin·now·er, nounun·win·nowed, adjective

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for winnow

Real "agriculture" is not pleasant; much pleasanter to reap and winnow (with ballot-box or otherwise) than to plough!
Latter-Day Pamphlets|Thomas Carlyle
Perhaps it was; for if the Romans had begun to winnow grain, they might have learned to winnow other things besides grain.
Pilgrimage from the Alps to the Tiber|James Aitken Wylie
In the village of Isser Jang on the road to Montgomery there be four changar women who winnow corn—some seventy bushels a year.
From Sea to Sea|Rudyard Kipling
But it is no very difficult task to winnow the chaff from the wheat, and the result will amply repay the labor.
The International Monthly, Volume 5, No. 3, March, 1852|Various

He has to cut the crops, carry them to the barn (kalam), separate the corn from the stalk, and winnow it.
Castes and Tribes of Southern India|Edgar Thurston

British Dictionary definitions for winnow

winnow

/ (ˈwɪnəʊ) /

verb

to separate (grain) from (chaff) by means of a wind or current of air

(tr) to examine in order to select the desirable elements

(tr) archaic to beat (the air) with wings

(tr) rare to blow upon; fan

noun

a device for winnowing
the act or process of winnowing

Derived Formswinnower, noun

Word Origin for winnow

Old English windwian; related to Old High German wintōn, Gothic diswinthjan, Latin ventilāre. See wind 1

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for winnow

winnow

Old English windwian, from wind "air in motion, paring down," see wind (n.1). Cognate with Old Norse vinza, Old High German winton "to fan, winnow," Gothic diswinþjan "to throw (grain) apart," Latin vannus "winnowing fan."