to free (grain) from the lighter particles of chaff, dirt, etc., esp. by throwing it into the air and allowing the wind or a forced current of air to blow away impurities.
2.
to drive or blow (chaff, dirt, etc.) away by fanning.
3.
to blow upon; fan.
4.
to subject to some process of separating or distinguishing; analyze critically; sift: to winnow a mass of statements.
5.
to separate or distinguish (valuable from worthless parts) (sometimes fol. by out): to winnow falsehood from truth.
6.
to pursue (a course) with flapping wings in flying.
7.
to fan or stir (the air) as with the wings in flying.
–verb (used without object)
8.
to free grain from chaff by wind or driven air.
9.
to fly with flapping wings; flutter.
–noun
10.
a device or contrivance used for winnowing.
11.
an act of winnowing.
[Origin: bef. 900; ME win(d)wen (v.), OE windwian, deriv. of windwind1]
the act of separating grain from chaff; "the winnowing was done by women"
verb
1.
separate the chaff from by using air currents; "She stood there winnowing chaff all day in the field"
2.
blow on; "The wind was winnowing her hair"; "the wind winnowed the grass"
3.
select desirable parts from a group or list; "cull out the interesting letters from the poet's correspondence"; "winnow the finalists from the long list of applicants" [syn: cull out]
4.
blow away or off with a current of air; "winnow chaff"
Fan\, n. [AS. fann, fr. L. vannus fan, van for winnowing grain; cf. F. van. Cf. Van a winnowing machine, Winnow.]1. An instrument used for producing artificial currents of air, by the wafting or revolving motion of a broad surface; as: (a) An instrument for cooling the person, made of feathers, paper, silk, etc., and often mounted on sticks all turning about the same pivot, so as when opened to radiate from the center and assume the figure of a section of a circle. (b) (Mach.) Any revolving vane or vanes used for producing currents of air, in winnowing grain, blowing a fire, ventilation, etc., or for checking rapid motion by the resistance of the air; a fan blower; a fan wheel. (c) An instrument for winnowing grain, by moving which the grain is tossed and agitated, and the chaff is separated and blown away. (d) Something in the form of a fan when spread, as a peacock's tail, a window, etc. (e) A small vane or sail, used to keep the large sails of a smock windmill always in the direction of the wind. Clean provender, which hath been winnowed with the shovel and with the fan. --Is. xxx. 24. 2. That which produces effects analogous to those of a fan, as in exciting a flame, etc.; that which inflames, heightens, or strengthens; as, it served as a fan to the flame of his passion. 3. A quintain; -- from its form. [Obs.] --Chaucer. Fan blower, a wheel with vanes fixed on a rotating shaft inclosed in a case or chamber, to create a blast of air (fan blast) for forge purposes, or a current for draft and ventilation; a fanner. Fan cricket (Zo["o]l.), a mole cricket. Fan light (Arch.), a window over a door; -- so called from the semicircular form and radiating sash bars of those windows which are set in the circular heads of arched doorways. Fan shell (Zo["o]l.), any shell of the family Pectinid[ae]. See Scallop, n., 1. Fan tracery (Arch.), the decorative tracery on the surface of fan vaulting. Fan vaulting (Arch.), an elaborate system of vaulting, in which the ribs diverge somewhat like the rays of a fan, as in Henry VII.'s chapel in Westminster Abbey. It is peculiar to English Gothic. Fan wheel, the wheel of a fan blower. Fan window. Same as Fan light (above).
Van\, n. [L. vannus a van, or fan for winnowing grain: cf. F. van. Cf. Fan, Van a wing Winnow.]1. A fan or other contrivance, as a sieve, for winnowing grain. 2. [OF. vanne, F. vanneau beam feather (cf. It. vanno a wing) fr. L. vannus. See Etymology above.] A wing with which the air is beaten. [Archaic] "[/Angels] on the air plumy vans received him. " --Milton. He wheeled in air, and stretched his vans in vain; His vans no longer could his flight sustain. --Dryden.
Wind\ (w[i^]nd, in poetry and singing often w[imac]nd; 277), n. [AS. wind; akin to OS., OFries., D., & G. wind, OHG. wint, Dan. & Sw. vind, Icel. vindr, Goth winds, W. gwynt, L. ventus, Skr. v[=a]ta (cf. Gr. 'ah`ths a blast, gale, 'ah^nai to breathe hard, to blow, as the wind); originally a p. pr. from the verb seen in Skr. v[=a] to blow, akin to AS. w[=a]wan, D. waaijen, G. wehen, OHG. w[=a]en, w[=a]jen, Goth. waian. [root]131. Cf. Air, Ventail, Ventilate, Window, Winnow.]1. Air naturally in motion with any degree of velocity; a current of air. Except wind stands as never it stood, It is an ill wind that turns none to good. --Tusser. Winds were soft, and woods were green. --Longfellow. 2. Air artificially put in motion by any force or action; as, the wind of a cannon ball; the wind of a bellows. 3. Breath modulated by the respiratory and vocal organs, or by an instrument. Their instruments were various in their kind, Some for the bow, and some for breathing wind. --Dryden. 4. Power of respiration; breath. If my wind were but long enough to say my prayers, I would repent. --Shak. 5. Air or gas generated in the stomach or bowels; flatulence; as, to be troubled with wind. 6. Air impregnated with an odor or scent. A pack of dogfish had him in the wind. --Swift. 7. A direction from which the wind may blow; a point of the compass; especially, one of the cardinal points, which are often called the four winds. Come from the four winds, O breath, and breathe upon these slain. --Ezek. xxxvii. 9. Note: This sense seems to have had its origin in the East. The Hebrews gave to each of the four cardinal points the name of wind. 8. (Far.) A disease of sheep, in which the intestines are distended with air, or rather affected with a violent inflammation. It occurs immediately after shearing. 9. Mere breath or talk; empty effort; idle words. Nor think thou with wind Of airy threats to awe. --Milton. 10. (Zo["o]l.) The dotterel. [Prov. Eng.] Note: Wind is often used adjectively, or as the first part of compound words. All in the wind. (Naut.) See under All, n. Before the wind. (Naut.) See under Before. Between wind and water (Naut.), in that part of a ship's side or bottom which is frequently brought above water by the rolling of the ship, or fluctuation of the water's surface. Hence, colloquially, (as an injury to that part of a vessel, in an engagement, is particularly dangerous) the vulnerable part or point of anything. Cardinal winds. See under Cardinal, a. Down the wind. (a) In the direction of, and moving with, the wind; as, birds fly swiftly down the wind. (b) Decaying; declining; in a state of decay. [Obs.] "He went down the wind still." --L'Estrange. In the wind's eye (Naut.), directly toward the point from which the wind blows. Three sheets in the wind, unsteady from drink. [Sailors' Slang] To be in the wind, to be suggested or expected; to be a matter of suspicion or surmise. [Colloq.] To carry the wind (Man.), to toss the nose as high as the ears, as a horse. To raise the wind, to procure money. [Colloq.] Totake, or have, the wind, to gain or have the advantage. --Bacon. To take the wind out of one's sails, to cause one to stop, or lose way, as when a vessel intercepts the wind of another. [Colloq.] To take wind, or To get wind, to be divulged; to become public; as, the story got wind, or took wind. Wind band (Mus.), a band of wind instruments; a military band; the wind instruments of an orchestra. Wind chest (Mus.), a chest or reservoir of wind in an organ. Wind dropsy. (Med.) (a) Tympanites. (b) Emphysema of the subcutaneous areolar tissue. Wind egg, an imperfect, unimpregnated, or addled egg. Wind furnace. See the Note under Furnace. Wind gauge. See under Gauge. Wind gun. Same as Air gun. Wind hatch (Mining), the opening or place where the ore is taken out of the earth. Wind instrument (Mus.), an instrument of music sounded by means of wind, especially by means of the breath, as a flute, a clarinet, etc. Wind pump, a pump moved by a windmill. Wind rose, a table of the points of the compass, giving the states of the barometer, etc., connected with winds from the different directions. Wind sail. (a) (Naut.) A wide tube or funnel of canvas, used to convey a stream of air for ventilation into the lower compartments of a vessel. (b) The sail or vane of a windmill. Wind shake, a crack or incoherence in timber produced by violent winds while the timber was growing. Wind shock, a wind shake. Wind side, the side next the wind; the windward side. [R.] --Mrs. Browning. Wind rush (Zo["o]l.), the redwing. [Prov. Eng.] Wind wheel, a motor consisting of a wheel moved by wind. Wood wind (Mus.), the flutes and reed instruments of an orchestra, collectively.
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