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Etymology data from Wiktionary via Wiktextract (CC BY-SA 4.0). Chinese character data from the 說文解字, the Taiwan MOE 國語辭典簡編本 (CC BY-ND 3.0 TW) and HSK/TOCFL lists.

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English

win

/ˈwɪn/
To conquer, defeat.

    Etymology graph

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    • borrowed
    • derived
    • parts
    • meaning component
    • sound component
    • related
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    Origin

    Etymology 1

    From Middle English winnen, from Old English winnan (“to labour, swink, toil,”) (compare Old English ġewinnan (“conquer, obtain, gain; endure, bear, suffer; be ill”)), from Proto-West Germanic *winnan, from Proto-Germanic *winnaną (“to swink, labour, win, gain, fight”), from Proto-Indo-European *wenh₁- (“to strive, wish, desire, love”).

    Cognates

    Cognate with North Frisian wan, wane, wen, wine, wune (“to win”), Saterland Frisian and West Frisian winne (“to win”), Cimbrian gabènnan (“to win”), Dutch and Low German winnen (“to win”), German gewinnen (“to win”), Luxembourgish gewannen (“to win”), Danish vinde (“to win”), Faroese and Icelandic vinna (“to win”), Norwegian Bokmål vinne (“to win”), Norwegian Nynorsk vinna, vinne (“to win”), Swedish vinna (“to win”), Gothic 𐍅𐌹𐌽𐌽𐌰𐌽 (winnan, “to suffer”); also Latin venus (“beauty, charm, elegance, grace; beloved, love”), Albanian vuaj, vuj (“to suffer; to endure”), Sanskrit वनोति (vanoti, “to desire, like, love, wish; to gain, procure; to win; to prepare; to hurt, injure”).

    Etymology 2

    From Middle English winn, winne, from Old English winn (“toil, labor, trouble, hardship; profit, gain; conflict, strife, war”), from Proto-Germanic *winną (“labour, struggle, fight”), from Proto-Indo-European *wenh₁- (“to strive, desire, wish, love”). Cognate with German Gewinn (“profit, gain”), Dutch gewin (“profit, gain”).

    Etymology 3

    From Middle English wynne, winne, wunne, from Old English wynn (“joy, rapture, pleasure, delight, gladness”), from Proto-West Germanic *wunnju, from Proto-Germanic *wunjō (“joy, delight, pleasure, lust”), from Proto-Indo-European *wenh₁- (“to strive, wish, desire, love”).

    Cognate with German Wonne (“bliss, joy, delight”), archaic Dutch wonne (“joy”), Danish ynde (“grace”), Icelandic yndi (“delight”).

    Etymology 4

    From wind.

    From Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.

    Lineage

    • rootProto-Indo-European*wenh₁- “to strive, desire, wish, love”
    • inheritedMiddle Englishwinnen
      • inheritedOld Englishwinnan “to labour, swink, toil,”
    • inheritedMiddle Englishwinn
      • inheritedOld Englishwinn “toil, labor, trouble, hardship; profit, gain; conflict, strife, war”
        • inheritedProto-Germanic*winną “labour, struggle, fight”
    • inheritedMiddle Englishwynne
      • inheritedOld Englishwynn “joy, rapture, pleasure, delight, gladness”
        • inheritedProto-West Germanic*wunnju
          • inheritedProto-Germanic*wunjō “joy, delight, pleasure, lust”
    • derivedEnglishwind “Real or perceived movement of atmospheric air usually caused by convection or differences in air pr…”
      • inheritedMiddle Englishwynd
        • inheritedOld Englishwind “wind”
      • inheritedMiddle Englishwynden

    Related: North Frisian wan, stq,fy winne, Cimbrian gabènnan, nl,nds winnen, German gewinnen, Luxembourgish gewannen, Danish vinde, fo,is vinna, Norwegian Bokmål vinne, Norwegian Nynorsk vinna, Swedish vinna, Gothic 𐍅𐌹𐌽𐌽𐌰𐌽, Latin venus, Albanian vuaj, Sanskrit वनोति, German Gewinn, Dutch gewin, German Wonne, Dutch wonne, Danish ynde, Icelandic yndi

    Words built on it: no-win

    Meanings

    verb
    1. To conquer, defeat.
    2. To reach some destination or object, despite difficulty or toil (now usually intransitive, with preposition or locative adverb).
    3. To triumph or achieve victory in (a game, a war, etc.).
    4. To gain (a prize) by succeeding in competition or contest.
    5. To obtain (someone) by wooing; to make an ally or friend of (frequently with over).
    6. To achieve victory.
    noun
    1. An individual victory.
    2. A feat carried out successfully; a victorious achievement.
    3. Gain; profit; income.
    4. Wealth; goods owned.

    Sources

    • Wiktionary (via Wiktextract / kaikki.org) — CC BY-SA 4.0
    • Wiktionary: win