# winnow

> English word · Verb · IPA /ˈwɪnoʊ/

## Definitions
1. To subject (granular material, especially food grain) to a current of air separating heavier and lighter components, as grain from chaff.
2. To separate, sift, analyse, or test by separating items having different values.
3. To blow upon or toss about by blowing; to set in motion as with a fan or wings.
4. To move about with a flapping motion, as of wings; to flutter.

## Etymology
From Middle English wyndwen, from Old English windwian (“to winnow, fan, ventilate”), from Proto-West Germanic *windwōn, from Proto-Germanic *windwōną, *winþijaną (“to throw about, winnow”), from Proto-Indo-European *wē- (“to winnow, thresh”). Cognate with West Frisian wynje (“to winnow”), dialectal Dutch winden, winnen (“to winnow”), Middle High German winden (“to winnow”), Icelandic vinsa (“to pick out, weed”), Latin vannus (“a winnowing basket”). See fan, van.

## Source
Compiled from Wiktionary via kaikki.org (CC BY-SA). Data vintage: 2026-05-06.
Canonical page: https://plainspell.com/en/word/winnow