Wind

Part of speech: noun, verb

Pronunciation: /wɪnd/

Definitions

1. air in natural motion, especially a current moving horizontally across the earth's surface
2. the movement of air created by differences in temperature and pressure, influencing weather and affecting activities like sailing and aviation
3. the natural movement of air that circulates due to temperature and pressure variations, impacting climates and human activities such as sailing and flight

Etymology: The noun "wind" and the verb "wind" are not the same word in origin. The noun descends from a very old Germanic root, *wind-, which goes back to a prehistoric verb meaning "to blow." Its relatives reach surprisingly far: Latin "ventus," Sanskrit "vā́ta," and Russian "ве́тер" (véter) all mean the same thing, and the Welsh "gwynt" does too. English "wind" is therefore a doublet of "vent," which came through French, and of "weather," which shares the same ancient base. The word is also a distant cousin of "athlete" and "nirvana," which entered English through Greek and Sanskrit respectively, though both arrived by different routes. The verb is a separate line. It comes from Old English "windan," meaning to turn, twist, or wrap, and it is related to the verb "wend," which originally meant to turn or go. Over time the sense of coiling and turning produced the familiar idea of winding a clock or winding a path, so the two words that sound identical in modern speech began as unrelated Old English verbs.

Synonyms: breeze, air, gale, draft, current

Antonyms: calm, stillness, serenity, tranquility, peace