winnow

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win·now

(wĭn′ō)

v. win·nowed, win·now·ing, win·nows

v.tr.

1. To separate the chaff from (grain) by means of a current of air.

2. To blow (chaff) off or away.

3. To examine closely in order to separate the good from the bad; sift: The judges winnowed a thousand essays down to six finalists.

a. To separate or get rid of (an undesirable part); eliminate: winnowing out the errors in logic.

b. To sort or select (a desirable part); extract: The investigators winnowed the facts from the testimony.

5. To blow on; fan: a breeze winnowing the tall grass.

v.intr.

1. To separate grain from chaff.

2. To separate the good from the bad.

1. A device for winnowing grain.

2. An act of winnowing.

[Middle English winnewen, alteration of windwen, from Old English windwian, from wind, wind; see wind¹.]

win′now·er n.

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

winnow

(ˈwɪnəʊ)

1. (Agriculture) to separate (grain) from (chaff) by means of a wind or current of air

2. (tr) to examine in order to select the desirable elements

3. (Zoology) (tr) archaic to beat (the air) with wings

4. (tr) rare to blow upon; fan

(Agriculture)

a. a device for winnowing

b. the act or process of winnowing

[Old English windwian; related to Old High German wintōn, Gothic diswinthjan, Latin ventilāre. See wind¹]

ˈwinnower n

Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014

win•now

(ˈwɪn oʊ)

v.t.

1. to free (grain) of chaff by fanning with wind or a forced current of air.

2. to drive or blow (chaff, dirt, etc.) away by fanning.

3. to blow upon; fan.

4. to subject to some process of separating or distinguishing; analyze critically; sift: to winnow a mass of statements.

5. to separate or distinguish (valuable from worthless parts) (sometimes fol. by out): to winnow fact from fiction.

v.i.

6. to free grain from chaff by wind or driven air.

7. a device used for winnowing.

8. an act of winnowing.

[before 900; Middle English win(d)wen (v.), Old English windwian, derivative of wind wind¹]

win′now•er, n.

winnow

Past participle: winnowed
Gerund: winnowing

Imperative
winnow
winnow

Present
I winnow
you winnow
he/she/it winnows
we winnow
you winnow
they winnow

Preterite
I winnowed
you winnowed
he/she/it winnowed
we winnowed
you winnowed
they winnowed

Present Continuous
I am winnowing
you are winnowing
he/she/it is winnowing
we are winnowing
you are winnowing
they are winnowing

Present Perfect
I have winnowed
you have winnowed
he/she/it has winnowed
we have winnowed
you have winnowed
they have winnowed

Past Continuous
I was winnowing
you were winnowing
he/she/it was winnowing
we were winnowing
you were winnowing
they were winnowing

Past Perfect
I had winnowed
you had winnowed
he/she/it had winnowed
we had winnowed
you had winnowed
they had winnowed

Future
I will winnow
you will winnow
he/she/it will winnow
we will winnow
you will winnow
they will winnow

Future Perfect
I will have winnowed
you will have winnowed
he/she/it will have winnowed
we will have winnowed
you will have winnowed
they will have winnowed

Future Continuous
I will be winnowing
you will be winnowing
he/she/it will be winnowing
we will be winnowing
you will be winnowing
they will be winnowing

Present Perfect Continuous
I have been winnowing
you have been winnowing
he/she/it has been winnowing
we have been winnowing
you have been winnowing
they have been winnowing

Future Perfect Continuous
I will have been winnowing
you will have been winnowing
he/she/it will have been winnowing
we will have been winnowing
you will have been winnowing
they will have been winnowing

Past Perfect Continuous
I had been winnowing
you had been winnowing
he/she/it had been winnowing
we had been winnowing
you had been winnowing
they had been winnowing

Conditional
I would winnow
you would winnow
he/she/it would winnow
we would winnow
you would winnow
they would winnow

Past Conditional
I would have winnowed
you would have winnowed
he/she/it would have winnowed
we would have winnowed
you would have winnowed
they would have winnowed

Collins English Verb Tables © HarperCollins Publishers 2011

Winnow

To clean grain by throwing it, shovelful by shovelful, against the wind.

ThesaurusAntonymsRelated WordsSynonymsLegend:

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Noun	1.	winnow - the act of separating grain from chaff; "the winnowing was done by women" sifting, winnowing separation - sorting one thing from others; "the separation of wheat from chaff"; "the separation of mail by postal zones"
Verb	1.	winnow - separate the chaff from by using air currents; "She stood there winnowing chaff all day in the field" fan sift, sieve, strain - separate by passing through a sieve or other straining device to separate out coarser elements; "sift the flour"
	2.	winnow - blow on; "The wind was winnowing her hair"; "the wind winnowed the grass" fan - agitate the air
	3.	winnow - select desirable parts from a group or list; "cull out the interesting letters from the poet's correspondence"; "winnow the finalists from the long list of applicants" cull out choose, pick out, select, take - pick out, select, or choose from a number of alternatives; "Take any one of these cards"; "Choose a good husband for your daughter"; "She selected a pair of shoes from among the dozen the salesgirl had shown her"
	4.	winnow - blow away or off with a current of air; "winnow chaff" remove, take away, withdraw, take - remove something concrete, as by lifting, pushing, or taking off, or remove something abstract; "remove a threat"; "remove a wrapper"; "Remove the dirty dishes from the table"; "take the gun from your pocket"; "This machine withdraws heat from the environment"

winnow

verb separate, fan, divide, sift a device which winnows wheat, separating the chaff from the seed

winnow something or someone out separate, part, screen, select, divide, sort out, comb, sift, cull Most of the faulty products were winnowed out by these processes.

Collins Thesaurus of the English Language – Complete and Unabridged 2nd Edition. 2002 © HarperCollins Publishers 1995, 2002

winnow

verb

1. To set apart (one kind or type) from others:

separate, sift, sort.

2. To be in a state of motion, as air:

blow, puff.

Translations

يُذَرّي، يُغَرْبِل

aussortieren

vanner

rostál

hreinsa hismi úr korni meî blæstri

vagliare

vėtyti

vētīt

rense korn ved blåsing

previať

harman/tahıl savurmak

扬谷物

winnow

[ˈwɪnəʊ] VT → aventar

Collins Spanish Dictionary - Complete and Unabridged 8th Edition 2005 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1971, 1988 © HarperCollins Publishers 1992, 1993, 1996, 1997, 2000, 2003, 2005

winnow

(fig liter) → sichten

(also winnow out) (= remove) → aussortieren; (= identify, find out) → herausfinden

Collins German Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged 7th Edition 2005. © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1980 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1997, 1999, 2004, 2005, 2007

winnow

[ˈwɪnəʊ] vt (grain) → vagliare, mondare

winnow

(ˈwinəu) verb

to separate the chaff from (the grain) by wind.

Mentioned in ?

References in classic literature ?

"Then I promise thee," said Don Quixote, "that, winnowed by her hands, beyond a doubt the bread it made was of the whitest; but go on; when thou gavest her my letter, did she kiss it?

View in context

In due time, the field in which my forefathers grew was gathered, the seed winnowed from the chaff and collected in casks, when the whole company was shipped for Ireland.

View in context

It was not for their tameness, but for their impassioned sincerity, that he chose incidents and situations from common life, "related in a selection of language really used by men." He constantly endeavours to bring his language nearer to the real language of men; but it is to the real language of men, not on the dead level of their ordinary intercourse, but in certain select moments of vivid sensation, when this language is winnowed and ennobled by sentiment.

View in context

The seed thus collected is winnowed and parched, and ground between two stones into a kind of meal or flour; which, when mixed with water, forms a very palatable paste or gruel.

View in context

I swear, if you winnowed her out between the stars, like Tomlinson, there would be found in her not one original thought.

View in context

In this respect, my company was winnowed by my mere distance from town.

View in context

He also warned administrative and security officials against laxity, adding that "those sleeping on the job will be winnowed out and brought to account for security lapses in their respective areas of jurisdiction."

Matiang'i orders probe against Bomet chief, assistant over illicit alcohol

The farmers who rented his blower paid him two kilos of palay for every sack winnowed. Since one blower can winnow 200 cavans daily, that meant 400 kilos of palay rental every day, equivalent to eight cavans.

The poor farmer who became rich

I understand the rules of the 'Letters to the Editor,' I hope the message I have tried to convey will get through it, without being winnowed and I hope you will, positively, consider my message.