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Wintering

 - 3 dictionary results

win⋅ter

  [win-ter]
Use Wintering in a Sentence
–noun
1. the cold season between autumn and spring in northern latitudes (in the Northern Hemisphere from the winter solstice to the vernal equinox; in the Southern Hemisphere from the summer solstice to the autumnal equinox).
2. the months of December, January, and February in the U.S., and of November, December, and January in Great Britain.
3. cold weather: a touch of winter in northern Florida.
4. the colder half of the year (opposed to summer ).
5. a whole year as represented by this season: a man of sixty winters.
6. a period like winter, as the last or final period of life; a period of decline, decay, inertia, dreariness, or adversity.
–adjective
7. of, pertaining to, or characteristic of winter: a winter sunset.
8. (of fruit and vegetables) of a kind that may be kept for use during the winter.
9. planted in the autumn to be harvested in the spring or early summer: winter rye.
–verb (used without object)
10. to spend or pass the winter: to winter in Italy.
11. to keep, feed, or manage during the winter, as plants or cattle: plants wintering indoors.
Origin:
bef. 900; (n.) ME, OE; c. G Winter, ON vetr, Goth wintrus; (v.) ME, deriv. of the n.; akin to wet, water

Related forms:
win⋅ter⋅er, noun
win⋅ter⋅ish, adjective
win⋅ter⋅ish⋅ly, adverb
win⋅ter⋅less, adjective
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
Cite This Source Link To Wintering
win·ter   (wĭn'tər)   
n.  

  1. The usually coldest season of the year, occurring between autumn and spring, extending in the Northern Hemisphere from the winter solstice to the vernal equinox, and popularly considered to be constituted by December, January, and February.

  2. A year as expressed through the recurrence of the winter season.

  3. A period of time characterized by coldness, misery, barrenness, or death.

adj.  

  1. Of, relating to, occurring in, or appropriate to the season of winter: winter blizzards; winter attire.

  2. Grown during the season of winter: winter herbs.

v.   win·tered, win·ter·ing, win·ters

v.   intr.

  1. To spend the winter: wintered in Arizona.

  2. To feed in winter. Used with on: deer wintering on cedar bark.

v.   tr.
To lodge, keep, or care for during the winter: wintering the sheep in the stable.

[Middle English, from Old English; see wed-1 in Indo-European roots.]
win'ter·ish adj.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Word Origin & History

winter 
O.E., "fourth season of the year," from P.Gmc. *wentruz (cf. O.Fris., Du. winter, O.S., O.H.G. wintar, Ger. winter, Dan., Swed. vinter, Goth. wintrus, O.N. vetr "winter"), possibly from PIE *wed-/*wod-/*ud- "wet" (see water), or from *wind- "white" (cf. Celt. vindo- "white"). The Anglo-Saxons counted years in "winters," cf. O.E. ænetre "one-year-old." O.N. Vetrardag, first day of winter, was the Saturday that fell between Oct. 10 and 16. The verb meaning "to pass the winter (in some place)" is recorded from 1382. Winterize is from 1938, on model of earlier summerize (1935). Wintergreen as a type of plant is recorded from 1548.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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