Winnan

Part of speech: verb

Definitions

1. To strive or endeavor to achieve a goal through effort and persistence ; to acquire something by labor or contest ; to gain possession or advantage through struggle
2. To engage in persistent effort to attain success ; to secure by hard work or competition ; to obtain or prevail through exertion
3. To work diligently with the aim of obtaining or accomplishing ; to win by exertion or contest ; to earn or achieve something through continuous endeavor

Etymology: Winnan was the Old English verb for struggling against something, and its meanings were far more physical than the modern "to win." It could mean to fight, to labour, or to suffer hardship, and the sense of prevailing over an opponent came through as a development of that struggle. Glossing it simply as "strive toward success" flattens the word's original sense of conflict and effort. The verb is a Germanic inheritance, descended from the same ancestor as Gothic "winnan," Old High German "winnan," and Old Norse "vinna," which all carried the idea of toil or fighting. Its earliest English uses are in Old English texts, so it has been part of the language since the earliest recorded period, and it passed into Middle English and modern English without a break in form, though its meaning narrowed toward victory over time. A related noun, "wynn," meant joy or delight in Old English, and it survives in the English word "winsome." The connection between striving and pleasure may seem odd, but both grew from the same root sense of effort and its rewards.