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winze1

or windz

[winz]
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noun Mining.
  1. a vertical or inclined shaft driven downward from a drift into an orebody.
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Compare raise(def 38).

Origin of winze1

1750–60; earlier winds, apparently derivative of wind2 in obsolete noun sense “apparatus for winding”

winze2

[winz]
noun Scot.
  1. a curse.
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Origin of winze2

1775–85; perhaps < Dutch wens wish, wensen to wish; see wish
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Examples from the Web for winze

Historical Examples

  • There was no draught, such as he had believed would issue from the winze.

    The Copper Princess

    Kirk Munroe

  • They were in a winze about thirty fathoms from the engine-shaft.

  • They were in a level which the water entered, not by flowing along or descending, but, by rising up through a winze.

  • On hearing the noise they ran to this winze, and, looking down, saw the water boiling and roaring far below.

  • By this time Oliver had partially recovered, and suggested that they should ascend the winze to the top.

British Dictionary definitions for winze

winze

noun
  1. mining a steeply inclined shaft, as for ventilation between levels
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Word Origin

C18: from earlier winds, probably from C14 wynde windlass, from Middle Dutch or Middle Low German winde; related to Danish vinde pulley
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