wind

Etymology 1

From Middle English wynd, wind, from Old English wind (“wind”), from Proto-West Germanic *wind, from Proto-Germanic *windaz, from Proto-Indo-European *h₂wéh₁n̥tos (“wind”), from earlier *h₂wéh₁n̥ts (“wind”), derived from the present participle of *h₂weh₁- (“to blow”). Cognates Cognate with Dutch wind, German Wind, West Frisian wyn, Norwegian and Swedish vind, Icelandic vindur, Latin ventus, Welsh gwynt, Sanskrit वात (vā́ta), Russian ве́тер (véter), perhaps Albanian bundë (“strong damp wind”). Doublet of athlete, vent, weather and nirvana.

noun

1. (countable, uncountable) Real or perceived movement of atmospheric air usually caused by convection or differences in air pressure.
   The wind blew through her hair as she stood on the deck of the ship.
   As they accelerated onto the motorway, the wind tore the plywood off the car's roof-rack.
   The winds in Chicago are fierce.
   There was a sudden gust of wind.
   Since the mid-1980s, when Indonesia first began to clear its bountiful forests on an industrial scale in favour of lucrative palm-oil plantations, “haze” has become an almost annual occurrence in South-East Asia. The cheapest way to clear logged woodland is to burn it, producing an acrid cloud of foul white smoke that, carried by the wind, can cover hundreds, or even thousands, of square miles. 2013-06-29, “Unspontaneous combustion”, in The Economist, volume 407, number 8842, page 29
2. Air artificially put in motion by any force or action.
   the wind of a cannon ball
   the wind of a bellows
3. (countable, uncountable) The ability to breathe easily.
   After the second lap he was already out of wind.
   The fall knocked the wind out of him.
4. (figurative) News of an event, especially by hearsay or gossip.
   to catch wind of something
   Steve caught wind of Martha's dalliance with his best friend.
5. (figurative) A tendency or trend.
   the wind of change
   But many of those issues failed to draw Spanish voters, or even scared them, and the country’s election results went contrary to Europe’s political winds. 2023-07-24, Jason Horowitz, “What the Collapse of Spain’s Far Right Means Going Forward”, in The New York Times, →ISSN
6. One of the five basic elements in Indian and Japanese models of the Classical elements.
7. (uncountable, colloquial) Flatus.
   to pass wind
   Eww. Someone just passed wind.
8. Breath modulated by the respiratory and vocal organs, or by an instrument.
9. (music) The woodwind section of an orchestra. Occasionally also used to include the brass section.
10. A direction from which the wind may blow; a point of the compass; especially, one of the cardinal points.
    the four winds
11. Types of playing-tile in the game of mah-jongg, named after the four winds.
12. A disease of sheep, in which the intestines are distended with air, or rather affected with a violent inflammation. It occurs immediately after shearing.
13. (figurative) Mere breath or talk; empty effort; idle words.
    Political language is designed to make lies sound truthful and murder respectable, and to give an appearance of solidity to pure wind. 1946, George Orwell, Politics and the English Language
14. A bird, the dotterel.
15. (boxing, slang) The region of the solar plexus, where a blow may paralyze the diaphragm and cause temporary loss of breath or other injury.

verb

1. (transitive) To blow air through a wind instrument or horn to make a sound.
   Something higher must lie at the back of that eager response to pack-music and winded horn — something born of the smell of the good earth 1913, Edith Constance Holme, Crump Folk Going Home, page 136
   "If your Majesty is ever to use the Horn," said Trufflehunter, "I think the time has now come." Caspian had of course told them of this treasure several days ago. […] "Then in the name of Aslan we will wind Queen Susan's Horn," said Caspian. 1951, C. S. Lewis, Prince Caspian: The Return to Narnia
2. (transitive) To cause (someone) to become breathless, as by a blow to the abdomen, or by physical exertion, running, etc.
   The boxer was winded during round two.
3. (transitive, Britain) To cause a baby to bring up wind by patting its back after being fed.
4. (transitive, Britain) To turn a boat or ship around, so that the wind strikes it on the opposite side.
5. (transitive) To expose to the wind; to winnow; to ventilate.
6. (transitive) To perceive or follow by scent.
   The hounds winded the game.
7. (transitive) To rest (a horse, etc.) in order to allow the breath to be recovered; to breathe.
8. (transitive) To turn a windmill so that its sails face into the wind.

Etymology 2

From Middle English wynden, from Old English windan, from Proto-Germanic *windaną. Compare West Frisian wine, Low German winden, Dutch winden, German winden, Danish vinde, Walloon windea. See also the related term wend.

verb

1. (transitive) To turn coils of (a cord or something similar) around something.
   to wind thread on a spool or into a ball
2. (transitive) To tighten the spring of a clockwork mechanism such as that of a clock.
   Please wind that old-fashioned alarm clock.
3. (transitive) To entwist; to enfold; to encircle.
4. (intransitive) To travel in a way that is not straight.
   Vines wind round a pole.  The river winds through the plain.
   1751, Thomas Gray, Elegy Written in a Country Churchyard The lowing herd wind slowly o'er the lea.
   The long and winding road That leads to your door Will never disappear. 1969, Paul McCartney, The Long and Winding Road
5. (transitive) To have complete control over; to turn and bend at one's pleasure; to vary or alter at will; to regulate; to govern.
   Were our legislature vested in the person of our prince, he might doubtless wind and turn our constitution at his pleasure. 12 October 1710, Joseph Addison, The Examiner No. 5
6. (transitive) To introduce by insinuation; to insinuate.
   'Tis pleasant to see what little arts and dexterities they have to wind in such things into discourse 1674, Richard Allestree, The Government of the Tongue
7. (transitive) To cover or surround with something coiled about.
   to wind a rope with twine
8. (transitive) To cause to move by exerting a winding force; to haul or hoist, as by a winch.
   Quickly she slammed the door shut and panicking wound the window up as fast as her slippery fingers would allow. 2012, Rural Affairs, Anna Hutton-North, Lulu.com
9. (transitive, nautical) To turn (a ship) around, end for end.

noun

1. The act of winding or turning; a turn; a bend; a twist.