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5 dictionary results for: Winsome
Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1) - Cite This Source - Share This
win·some
[win-suh
m] Pronunciation Key
[win-suh
m] Pronunciation Key –adjective
| sweetly or innocently charming; winning; engaging: a winsome smile. |
Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1)
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2006.
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2006.
American Heritage Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This
| win·some
(wĭn'səm) Pronunciation Key
adj. Charming, often in a childlike or naive way. [Middle English winsum, from Old English wynsum : from wynn, joy; see wen-1 in Indo-European roots + -sum, characterized by; see -some1.] win'some·ly adv., win'some·ness n. Word History: Winsome people easily win friends, so it is not surprising that winsome and win have a common root. Their shared element win- comes from the Indo-European root *wen-, meaning "to desire, strive for," and has a number of descendants in the Germanic languages. One was the prehistoric Germanic noun *wini- meaning "friend" (literally, "one who desires or loves" someone else), which became wine in Old English and is preserved in such names as Winfred, "friend of peace," and Edwin, "friend of (family) possessions." A different form of the root with a different suffix became Old English wynn, "pleasure, joy," preserved in winsome. Finally, the verb win itself is from this root; its meaning is an extension of the sense "to strive for," namely, "to strive for with success, be victorious." Outside of the Germanic branch of Indo-European, we see the root, for example, in Latin venus or Venus "love, the goddess of love," and the verb venerāre, "to worship," the source of English venerate. |
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The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2006 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2006 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
Online Etymology Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This
winsome
winsome
O.E. wynsum "agreeable, pleasant," from wynn "pleasure, delight" (cf. Ger. Wonne "joy, delight;" see win) + -sum "-some." Apparently surviving only in northern English dialect for 400 years until revived 18c. by Hamilton, Burns, and other Scot. poets.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
WordNet® 3.0, © 2006 by Princeton University.
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This
Winsome
Ven"er*ate\, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Venerated; p. pr. & vb. n. Venerating.] [L. veneratus, p. p. of venerari to venerate; akin to Venus Venus, Skr. van to like, to wish, and E. winsome. See Winsome.] To regard with reverential respect; to honor with mingled respect and awe; to reverence; to revere; as, we venerate parents and elders. And seemed to venerate the sacred shade. --Dryden. I do not know a man more to be venerated for uprightness of heart and loftiness of genius. --Sir W. Scott. Syn: To reverence; revere; adore; respect.
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc.
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