Etymology
1. "air in motion," O.E.
wind, from P.Gmc.
*wendas (cf. O.S., O.Fris., Du.
wind, O.N.
vindr, O.H.G.
wind, Ger.
Wind, Goth.
winds), from PIE
*went- (cf. Skt.
vatah, Avestan
vata-, Hittite
huwantis, L.
ventus, O.C.S.
vetru, Lith.
vejas "wind;" Lith.
vetra "tempest;" O.Ir.
feth "air;" Welsh
gwynt, Bret.
gwent "wind"), from base
*we- "to blow" (cf. Skt.
vati, Avestan
vaiti "blows," Goth.
waian, O.E.
wawan, O.H.G.
wajan, Ger.
wehen, O.C.S.
vejati "to blow"). Normal pronunciation evolution made this word rhyme with
kind and
rind (Donne rhymes it with
mind), but shifted to a short vowel 18c., probably from influence of
windy, where the short vowel is natural. A sad loss for poets, who now must rhyme it only with
sinned and a handful of weak words. Symbolic of emptiness and vanity since c.1290.
"I have forgot much, Cynara! gone with the wind." [Ernest Dowson, 1896]
To
get wind of "receive information about" is recorded from 1809, perhaps from Fr.
avoir le vent de.
Wind-chill index is recorded from 1939. The verb meaning "tire, put out of breath" is attested from 1811.
2. From Middle English wynd, wind, from Old English wind (“wind”), from Proto-West Germanic *wind, from Proto-Germanic *windaz, from Proto-Indo-European *h₂wéh₁n̥tos (“wind”), from earlier *h₂wéh₁n̥ts (“wind”), derived from the present participle of *h₂weh₁- (“to blow”).
3. Cognates
4. Cognate with Yola weend, wyeene (“wind”), North Frisian win, winj (“wind”), Saterland Frisian Wíend (“wind”), West Frisian wyn (“wind”), Alemannic German wend, wind, winn, wénn (“wind”), Bavarian bint, Wind (“wind”), Cimbrian and Mòcheno bint (“wind”), Dutch wind (“wind”), German and German Low German Wind (“wind”), Luxembourgish Wand (“wind”), Yiddish ווינט (vint, “wind”), Danish, Norwegian Bokmål, Norwegian Nynorsk, and Swedish vind (“wind”), Faroese and Icelandic vindur (“wind”), Gothic 𐍅𐌹𐌽𐌳𐍃 (winds, “wind”), Latin ventus (“wind”), Welsh gwynt (“wind”), Sanskrit वात (vā́ta, “wind”), Russian ве́тер (véter, “wind”), perhaps Albanian bundë (“strong damp wind”). Doublet of athlete, vent, weather and nirvana. See: Sanskrit '
वात'.
Verbs referencing "wind"
Norwegian, nynorsk
vinde, Luxembourgish
wënnen.