WINNOWING

winnow, winnowing, sifting

(noun) the act of separating grain from chaff; “the winnowing was done by women”

Source: WordNet® 3.1


Verb

winnowing

present participle of winnow

Noun

winnowing (plural winnowings)

The act of separating chaff from grain.

Source: Wiktionary


Win"now*ing, n.

Definition: The act of one who, or that which, winnows.

WINNOW

Win"now, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Winnowed; p. pr. & vb. n. Winnowing.] Etym: [OE. windewen, winewen, AS. windwian; akin to Goth. winpjan (in comp.), winpi-skauro a fan, L. ventilare to fan, to winnow; cf. L. wannus a fan for winnowing, G. wanne, OHG. wanna. . See Wind moving air, and cf. Fan., n., Ventilate.]

1. To separate, and drive off, the chaff from by means of wind; to fan; as, to winnow grain. Ho winnoweth barley to-night in the threshing floor. Ruth. iii. 2.

2. To sift, as for the purpose of separating falsehood from truth; to separate, as had from good. Winnow well this thought, and you shall find This light as chaff that flies before the wind. Dryden.

3. To beat with wings, or as with wings.[Poetic] Now on the polar winds; then with quick fan Winnows the buxom air. Milton.

Win"now, v. i.

Definition: To separate chaff from grain. Winnow not with every wind. Ecclus. v. 9.

Source: Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary 1913 Edition



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Word of the Day

21 April 2025

ENCYCLOPEDIA

(noun) a reference work (often in several volumes) containing articles on various topics (often arranged in alphabetical order) dealing with the entire range of human knowledge or with some particular specialty


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Coffee Trivia

Brazil is the largest coffee producer in the world. Each year Brazil exports more than 44 million bags of coffee. Vietnam follows at exporting over 27 million bags each year.

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