winter
English
Alternative forms
Etymology
From Middle English winter, from Old English winter, from Proto-Germanic *wintruz (“winter”). Cognate with West Frisian winter (“winter”), Dutch winter (“winter”), German Winter (“winter”), Danish, Swedish and Norwegian vinter (“winter”), Icelandic vetur (“winter”).
Pronunciation
- (Received Pronunciation) IPA(key): /ˈwɪntə/
- (General American, Canada) IPA(key): /ˈwɪntɚ/, enPR: wĭnʹtər
- IPA(key): [ˈwɪɾ̃ɚ], [ˈwɪntʰɚ]
- (US)
IPA(key): [ˈwɪntʰɚ](file)
Audio (file) - Rhymes: -ɪntə(ɹ)
- Homophone: winner (US, Canada, some dialects)
- Hyphenation (UK): winter, (US): win‧ter
Noun
winter (countable and uncountable, plural winters)
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- Traditionally the fourth of the four seasons, typically regarded as being from December 23 to March 20 in continental regions of the Northern Hemisphere or the months of June, July and August in the Southern Hemisphere. It is the time when the sun is lowest in the sky, resulting in short days, and the time of year with the lowest atmospheric temperatures for the region.
- a1420, The British Museum Additional MS, 12,056, “Wounds complicated by the Dislocation of a Bone”, in Robert von Fleischhacker, editor, Lanfranc's "Science of cirurgie.", London: K. Paul, Trench, Trübner & Co, translation of original by Lanfranc of Milan, published 1894, →ISBN, page 63:
- Ne take noon hede to brynge togidere þe parties of þe boon þat is to-broken or dislocate, til viij. daies ben goon in þe wyntir, & v. in þe somer; for þanne it schal make quytture, and be sikir from swellynge; & þanne brynge togidere þe brynkis eiþer þe disiuncture after þe techynge þat schal be seid in þe chapitle of algebra.
- 1592, Shakespeare, Henry VI, Part 1:
- And after summer evermore succeeds / Barren winter, with his wrathful nipping cold.
- 1646, Thomas Browne, “Of the Cameleon”, in Pseudodoxia Epidemica: Or, Enquiries into Very Many Received Tenents, and Commonly Presumed Truths, London: Printed for Tho. Harper for Edvvard Dod, OCLC 838860010; Pseudodoxia Epidemica: Or, Enquiries into Very Many Received Tenents, and Commonly Presumed Truths. […], book 3, 2nd corrected and much enlarged edition, London: Printed by A. Miller, for Edw[ard] Dod and Nath. Ekins, […], 1650, OCLC 152706203, page 133:
- It cannot be denied it [the chameleon] is (if not the moſt of any) a very abſtemious animall, and ſuch as by reaſon of its frigidity, paucity of bloud, and latitancy in the winter (about which time the obſervations are often made) will long ſubſist without a viſible ſuſtentation.
- 1785, William Cowper, “Tirocinium: or, A Review of Schools." in The Poems of William Cowper, Vol. II., The Press of C. Whittingham (1822), page 174:
- There shall he learn, ere sixteen winters old, / That [...]
- 1897, William Morris, The Water of the Wondrous Isles, Vol. I, Longmans, Green and Co. (1914), page 2:
- [...] a woman, tall, and strong of aspect, of some thirty winters by seeming, [...]
-
- (figuratively, poetic) The period of decay, old age, death, or the like.
- (Can we date this quote?), William Wordsworth, (Please provide the book title or journal name):
- Life's autumn past, I stand on winter's verge.
-
- (obsolete) An appliance to be fixed on the front of a grate, to keep a kettle warm, etc.
Usage notes
Note that season names are usually uncapitalized in modern English (for example, spring), except when personified (Old Man Winter). This is contrast to the days of the week and months of the year, which are always capitalized (Thursday or September).
Hyponyms
- AI winter
- atomic winter
- blackberry winter
- blackthorn winter
- dogwood winter
- General winter
- impact winter
- Kondratiev winter
- Long Winter
- meteorological winter
- nuclear winter
- Russian winter
- Soviet winter
- volcanic winter
Derived terms
- wintercress
- winter-gull
- winter-hained
- Winterlude
- winters
- winter-weight
- wintrous
- bewinter
- early-winter
- Fimbulwinter
- forwintered
- in-winter
- late-winter
- love-in-winter
- mid-winter
- midwinter
- outwinter
- out-winter
- overwinter
- rere-winter
- twinter
- unwinter
- winterage
- winterberry
- winter-bloom
- winter-clad
- winter-close
- winter-crack
- wintered
- Winter-een-mas
- winterfeed
- winter-feed
- Winterfest
- winter-flower
- Winterfresh
- winter-ground
- winterhardy
- winter-hardy
- Winterhaven
- winter-house
- winteridge
- winterim
- winterise
- winterish
- winterize
- winter-killed
- winterless
- winterling
- winter-long
- winter-love
- winter-mew
- winter-old
- winter-pick
- winter-piece
- winter-pride
- winter-pround
- winter-rig
- winter-shad
- wintersome
- winter-stall
- Winterstown
- Wintersville
- wintersweet
- winter-sweet
- winter-thorn
- winter-tide
- wintertide
- winter-time
- wintertime
- Winterval
- Winterville
- winterward
- winterwards
- winterweed
- winter-weed
- winterweight
Related terms
- Canella winterana
- Drimys winteri
- Hildewintera
- Pseudowintera
- summer and winter
- Villa Winter
- winter and winter
- Wintera
- Winteria
- Winterocereus
- Arctic Winter Games
- Austrian winter pea
- beady-legged winter horse tick
- buy straw hats in winter
- Chinese winter squash
- early winter cress
- East Indian winter jet
- Father Winter
- Fell Winter
- Madeira winter cherry
- Old Man Winter
- Operation Dark Winter
- Spencer's winter vomiting
- Western Winter Blast
- wild winterpea
- winter aconite
- winteran
- winter annual
- winter apple
- winter barley
- winter-beaten
- winter berry
- winter bloom
- winterbourne
- winter break
- winter bud
- winter bunting
- winter carnival
- winter cherry
- Winter Circle
- winter city
- winter clover
- winter cluster
- Winter Coast
- winter coat
- winter corn
- winter cough
- winter count
- winter country
- winter cress
- winter crookneck
- winter crookneck squash
- winter crop
- winter currant
- winter daffodil
- winter depression
- winter duck
- winter dysentery
- winter eczema
- winter egg
- winter falcon
- winter fallow
- winter fat
- winter fern
- winter fever
- winter finch
- winter flounder
- winter flowering cherry
- Winter Games
- winter garden
- winter gillyflower
- winter gnat
- winter grape
- wintergreen
- winter greens
- winter guard
- winter gull
- Winter Harbor
- Winter Harbour
- Winter Haven
- winter hawk
- winter hazel
- winter heath
- winter heliotrope
- winter hellebore
- winter hemp
- Winter Hexagon
- Winter Hill
- winter holidays
- winter ice
- Winter Island
- winter itch
- winter jasmine
- Winter King
- Winter Line
- winter lodge
- winter lodgment
- winterly
- Winter Magic Festival
- winter marjoram
- winter melon
- winter melon vine
- winter mew
- winter midge
- winter monsoon
- winter moth
- winter mushroom
- winter oats
- Winter of Discontent
- winter oil
- Winter Olympic Games
- Winter Olympics
- winter ova
- winter packet
- Winter Palace
- Winter Park
- winter peach
- winter pear
- winter purslane
- winter quarters
- Winter Queen
- winter queening
- winter range
- winter rape
- winter redbird
- winter road
- winter rocket
- winter rose
- winter rules
- winter-run fish
- winter rye
- winter savory
- Winter's bark
- winter's bark
- Winter's cinnamon
- winter scours
- winter shad
- winter sheldrake
- winter sleep
- winter sleeper
- winter snipe
- winter solstice
- winter sport
- Winter Springs
- winter squash
- Winter's syndrome
- winter storm
- winter story
- winter strawberry
- winter sweet
- winter sweet marjoram
- winter tale
- winter teal
- winter tick
- winter tire
- Winter Triangle
- winter tyre
- winter urn
- winter vacation
- winter visitor
- winter vomiting disease
- winter wagtail
- Winter War
- winter warfare
- winter wash
- winter wheat
- Winter White House
- winter white Russian hamster
- winter wicket
- winter woolies
- winter woollies
- winter worm
- winter worm summer grass
- winter wren
- wintery
- wintry
Translations
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Verb
winter (third-person singular simple present winters, present participle wintering, simple past and past participle wintered)
Derived terms
- overwinter
- Wintered Over Device
- winterer
- wintering
Translations
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Alemannic German
Etymology
From Middle High German winter, from Old High German wintar, from Proto-Germanic *wintruz. Cognate with German Winter, Dutch winter, English winter, Swedish vinter.
See also
Seasons in Alemannic German · Italian Walser (layout · text) | |||
---|---|---|---|
Carcoforo: ustog Formazza: langsé Gressoney: ustag Issime: oustaga Rimella: üstàg |
ŝchummer summer sòmmer summer ŝchumer |
herbscht herbscht herbscht hérbscht harpscht |
winter wénter wénter winter wenter |
References
- “winter” in Patuzzi, Umberto, ed., (2013) Ünsarne Börtar [Our Words], Luserna, Italy: Comitato unitario delle linguistiche storiche germaniche in Italia / Einheitskomitee der historischen deutschen Sprachinseln in Italien
Dutch
Etymology
From Middle Dutch winter, from Old Dutch winter, from Proto-Germanic *wintruz.
Pronunciation
audio (file) - IPA(key): /ˈʋɪn.tər/
Descendants
- Afrikaans: winter
Middle Dutch
Etymology
From Old Dutch winter, from Proto-Germanic *wintruz.
Inflection
This noun needs an inflection-table template.
Derived terms
Middle English
Alternative forms
- wintere, wintre
Etymology
From Old English winter; in turn from Proto-Germanic *wintruz.
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /ˈwintər/
Old Dutch
Etymology
From Proto-Germanic *wintruz.
Inflection
This noun needs an inflection-table template.
Old English
Alternative forms
- ƿinter
Etymology
From Proto-Germanic *wintruz, whence also Old Frisian winter, Old High German and Old Saxon wintar, Old Norse vetr and vintr, Gothic 𐍅𐌹𐌽𐍄𐍂𐌿𐍃 (wintrus). Perhaps represents a nasalised variant of Proto-Indo-European *wed- (whence also English water, wet); but perhaps akin to Old English winistre (“left (side)”), with original sense possibly a cardinal direction or possibly "unfavorable" .
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /ˈwinter/
Declension
Case | Singular | Plural |
---|---|---|
nominative | winter | wintras |
accusative | winter | wintras |
genitive | wintres | wintra |
dative | wintre, wintra | wintrum |
Derived terms
Scots
Etymology
From Middle English winter, from Old English winter, from Proto-Germanic *wintruz.
West Frisian
Etymology
From Old Frisian winter, from Proto-Germanic *wintruz.
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /ˈvɪntər/
Derived terms
Further reading
- “winter”, in Wurdboek fan de Fryske taal (in Dutch), 2011