English
winding
Winding comes from Middle English winding ‘act of exposing something to the wind, airing,…’, and goes back to winden.
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500winden
- Middle English, derivedc. 1150–1500winding‘act of exposing something to the wind, airing, ventilating’
- Englishearliest quotation 1615same form
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed
Earlier history not traced here.
Lineage
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500winden
- Middle English, derivedc. 1150–1500winding‘act of exposing something to the wind, airing, ventilating’
- Englishearliest quotation 1615same form
Earliest quotation: 1615, George Sandys, The First Booke: “Novv their opinions of the end of the vvorld,…”
Formed from wind ‘to blow air through (a wind instrument or…’ + -ing
Proto-Indo-European *h₂weh₁- ‘to blow’
…
Proto-Germanic *windaz ‘wind’
Proto-West Germanic *wind ‘wind’
Old English wind ‘wind’
Middle English wynd
English wind
The story
The noun is derived from Middle English winding, windinge, wyndynge (‘act of exposing something to the wind, airing, ventilating; act of winnowing (?)’), from winden, wynden (‘to expose (something) to the air or wind, ventilate; to cause (someone) to be out of breath; to winnow (wheat); of an animal: to catch the scent of (someone or something)’) + -ing, -inge (suffix forming gerund nouns, and the present participle forms of verbs). The English word is analysable as wind (‘to blow air through (a wind instrument or horn) to make a sound; to cause (someone) to become breathless; to winnow (food grain), etc.’) + -ing (suffix forming present participial adjectives and verbs, and nouns denoting an action or the embodiment of an action).
Every English word from Middle English winden
Another origin of winding
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*wendʰ-‘to wind, to turn’root as named · steps between not traced
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500winding
- Englishtodaysame form
The adjective is derived from the verb. The English word is analysable as wind (‘to turn coils of (a cord, etc.) around something; to encircle, enfold, entwist, wrap; to travel in a way that is not straight’) + -ing (suffix forming present participial adjectives and verbs, and nouns denoting an action or the embodiment of an action).
Today it means
noun The act of winnowing (“subjecting food grain to a current of air to separate the grain from the chaff”).
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Middle English winden / winding