Wynmaker

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A person who produces wine, overseeing the grape harvest, fermentation, and aging of the finished drink
2. Someone whose trade is turning grapes or other fruit into wine through pressing, fermenting, and bottling
3. A vintner or oenologist who crafts wine from grapes, often running a vineyard or winery

Etymology: "Wynmaker" is a plain compound of "wyn", the Middle English and Old English spelling of "wine", and "maker", meaning one who makes something. The "y" in "wyn" is a spelling choice rather than a sound: Old English "wīn" was borrowed very early from Latin "vinum", so the word reached English as a loanword before the Norman Conquest rather than through French. Middle English writers often spelled it "wyn" or "win", and the form survives in a few older English names. The compound "wynmaker" is a late formation, attested in English dictionaries only from the modern period, when it was coined as a more specific alternative to "winemaker" for a producer of wine, especially one whose business centres on grapes. Its meaning follows directly from its parts and has not shifted over time, so the word is best understood as a transparent, somewhat archaic-looking spelling of an everyday trade term.