winter

winter
\ \ [OE] Winter is a general Germanic word (German and Dutch spell it the same, Swedish and Danish have vinter). Its prehistoric ancestor was *wentrus, but the ultimate source of this is uncertain. It could well go back to a nasalized version of the Indo-European base *wed-, *wod-, *ud- ‘wet’ (source also of English otter, water and wet), in which case winter would be etymologically the ‘wet’ season. But an alternative theory traces it back to Indo- European *wind- ‘white’ (source of Breton gwenn, Welsh gwyn – which may underlie English penguin – and Irish fionn ‘white’), in which case it would denote the ‘white’ season.

Word origins - 2ed. . 2005.

Игры ⚽ Нужно сделать НИР?
Synonyms:


Look at other dictionaries:

  • winter — winter …   The Old English to English

  • winter — winter …   English to the Old English

  • Winter- — Winter …   Deutsch Wörterbuch

  • Winter — Win ter, n. [AS. winter; akin to OFries. & D. winter, OS. & OHG. wintar, G. winter, D. & Sw. vinter, Icel. vetr, Goth. wintrus; of uncertain origin; cf. Old Gallic vindo white (in comp.), OIr. find white. ????.] [1913 Webster] 1. The season of… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • Winter AG — Rechtsform Aktiengesellschaft ISIN DE0005555601 Gründung 1924 …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • winter — [win′tər] n. [ME < OE, akin to ON vetr, Goth wintrus, prob. < IE * wed , to make wet: see WATER] 1. a) the coldest season of the year: in the North Temperate Zone, generally regarded as including the months of December, January, and… …   English World dictionary

  • Winter — Sm std. (8. Jh.), mhd. winter, winder, ahd. wintar, as. wintar Stammwort. Aus g. * went r (oder i ), vermutlich r Stamm m. Winter , auch in gt. wintrus, anord. vetr, ae. winter, afr. winter. Herkunft unklar. Man versucht Anschlüsse an air. finn,… …   Etymologisches Wörterbuch der deutschen sprache

  • Winter — Win ter, v. i. [imp. & p. p. {Wintered}; p. pr. & vb. n. {Wintering}.] To pass the winter; to hibernate; as, to winter in Florida. [1913 Webster] Because the haven was not commodious to winter in, the more part advised to depart thence. Acts… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • Winter — Win ter, v. i. To keep, feed or manage, during the winter; as, to winter young cattle on straw. [1913 Webster] …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • Winter — 256 px Datos generales Origen Estados Unidos Información artística Género(s) Dea …   Wikipedia Español

  • Winter — Winter, Fritz Winter, Peter von Winter, Zikmund …   Enciclopedia Universal

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
… Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”