winding
/ˈwɪndɪŋ/ noun, adjective, proper noun
Also a form of wind
Forms windings
- noun (agriculture, chiefly attributive) The act of winnowing (“subjecting food grain to a current of air to separate the grain from the chaff”).
- noun (music) The act of blowing air through a wind instrument or (chiefly) a horn to make a sound.
- adjective Causing one to be breathless or out of breath.
- adjective (not comparable, music) Of a horn or wind instrument: blown to make a sound.
- noun The act of twisting something, or coiling or wrapping something around another thing.
- noun (especially in the plural) A curving, sinuous, or twisting movement; twists and turns.
- noun (especially in the plural) A curving, sinuous, or twisting form.
- noun Chiefly followed by up: the act of tightening the spring of a clockwork or other mechanism.
- noun Sometimes followed by up: the act of hoisting something using a winch or a similar device.
- noun (figurative, chiefly in the plural) Twists and turns in an occurrence, in thinking, or some other thing; also, moral crookedness; craftiness, shiftiness.
- noun (UK, nautical) The act or process of turning a boat or ship in a certain direction.
- noun (obsolete, music) A variation in a tune.
- adjective Moving in a sinuous or twisting manner.
- adjective Sinuous, turning, or twisting in form.
- adjective Chiefly of a staircase: helical, spiral.
- adjective (figurative) Of speech, writing, etc.: not direct or to the point; rambling, roundabout.
- adjective Flexible, pliant.
- adjective (figurative) Morally crooked; crafty, shifty.
- proper noun A surname from Danish.
Synonyms
lapping withe withy circuitous circumlocutionary indirect meandering tortuous wind twist twisting twisty voluminous rambling wandering
Etymology
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 adjective is derived from the verb.
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).
The noun is derived from Middle English winding, windinge, wyndynge (“directional change, curve, turn; bend of the leg at the knee; meandering course of a river; act of turning and twisting; twisting of things (especially thread) together; wrapping of a cloth around something; wattling of a structure; wattle(s); ornamentation with interwoven patterns; hoisting of something”) [and other forms], and then partly:
* from winden, wynden (“to go, move; to move forcefully or suddenly; to direct, guide, lead; to go along a meandering or twisting course; to move in a circular pattern, revolve, turn; to move restlessly, toss and turn; to wriggle free; to move with a turning or twisting motion, bend, turn, twist; to form or mould (something) in one’s hands; to mix together; to cover; to clothe, dress; to wrap (a baby, a corpse, etc.); to encircle, surround; to bind; to interlace; to winch; (figurative) to conceal, disguise; to embroil, involve”) + -ing, -inge (suffix forming gerund nouns, and the present participle forms of verbs).; and
* from Old English windung (“woven object”), from windan (“to twist, wind; to circle, curl, eddy, spiral”) (from Proto-Germanic *windaną (“to wind; to wrap”), from Proto-Indo-European *wendʰ- (“to turn; to wind”)) + -ung (suffix forming nouns denoting a verbal action or something involved in a verbal action).
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).
Borrowed from Danish Winding.
Webster’s 1913
- noun A call by the boatswain's whistle.
- adjective Twisting from a direct line or an even surface; circuitous.
- noun A turn or turning; a bend; a curve; flexure; meander; as, the windings of a road or stream.
- noun A line-or ribbon-shaped material (as wire, string, or bandaging) wound around an object; as, the windings (conducting wires) wound around the armature of an electric motor or generator.
Etymology [From Wind to blow.]
Etymology [From Wind to twist.]
Sources: Wiktionary · WordNet 3.0 · Webster’s 1913 — from the Wiktionary entry “winding”, CC BY-SA 4.0. Details