Definify.com

Webster 1913 Edition

Winter

Win′ter

,
Noun.
[AS.
winter
; akin to OFries. & D.
winter
, OS. & OHG.
wintar
, G.
winter
, D. & Sw.
vinter
, Icel.
vetr
, Goth.
wintrus
; of uncertain origin; cf. Old Gallic
vindo-
white (in comp.), OIr.
find
white. [GREEK][GREEK][GREEK][GREEK].]
1.
The season of the year in which the sun shines most obliquely upon any region; the coldest season of the year.
“Of thirty winter he was old.”
Chaucer.
And after summer evermore succeeds
Barren
winter
, with his wrathful nipping cold.
Shakespeare
Winter
lingering chills the lap of May.
Goldsmith.
☞ North of the equator, winter is popularly taken to include the months of December, January, and February (see
Season
). Astronomically, it may be considered to begin with the winter solstice, about December 21st, and to end with the vernal equinox, about March 21st.
2.
The period of decay, old age, death, or the like.
Life’s autumn past, I stand on
winter's
verge.
Wordsworth.
Winter apple
,
an apple that keeps well in winter, or that does not ripen until winter.
–
Winter barley
,
a kind of barley that is sown in autumn.
–
Winter berry
(Bot.)
,
the name of several American shrubs (
Ilex verticillata
,
Ilex laevigata
, etc.) of the Holly family, having bright red berries conspicuous in winter.
–
Winter bloom
.
(Bot.)
(a)
A plant of the genus Azalea.
(b)
A plant of the genus
Hamamelis
(
Hamamelis Viginica
); witch-hazel; – so called from its flowers appearing late in autumn, while the leaves are falling.
–
Winter bud
(Zool.)
,
a statoblast.
–
Winter cherry
(Bot.)
,
a plant (
Physalis Alkekengi
) of the Nightshade family, which has, a red berry inclosed in the inflated and persistent calyx. See
Alkekengi
.
–
Winter cough
(Med.)
,
a form of chronic bronchitis marked by a cough recurring each winter.
–
Winter cress
(Bot.)
,
a yellow-flowered cruciferous plant (
Barbarea vulgaris
).
–
Winter crop
,
a crop which will bear the winter, or which may be converted into fodder during the winter.
–
Winter duck
.
(Zool.)
(a)
The pintail.
(b)
The old squaw.
–
Winter egg
(Zool.)
,
an egg produced in the autumn by many invertebrates, and destined to survive the winter. Such eggs usually differ from the summer eggs in having a thicker shell, and often in being enveloped in a protective case. They sometimes develop in a manner different from that of the summer eggs.
–
Winter fallow
,
ground that is fallowed in winter.
–
Winter fat
.
(Bot.)
Same as
White sage
, under
White
.
–
Winter fever
(Med.)
,
pneumonia.
[Colloq.]
–
Winter flounder
.
(Zool.)
See the Note under
Flounder
.
–
Winter gull
(Zool.)
,
the common European gull; – called also
winter mew
.
[Prov. Eng.]
–
Winter itch
.
(Med.)
See
Prarie itch
, under
Prairie
.
–
Winter lodge
, or
Winter lodgment
.
(Bot.)
Same as
Hibernaculum
.
–
Winter mew
.
(Zool.)
Same as
Winter gull
, above.
[Prov. Eng.]
–
Winter moth
(Zool.)
,
any one of several species of geometrid moths which come forth in winter, as the European species (
Cheimatobia brumata
). These moths have rudimentary mouth organs, and eat no food in the imago state. The female of some of the species is wingless.
–
Winter oil
,
oil prepared so as not to solidify in moderately cold weather.
–
Winter pear
,
a kind of pear that keeps well in winter, or that does not ripen until winter.
–
Winter quarters
,
the quarters of troops during the winter; a winter residence or station.
–
Winter rye
,
a kind of rye that is sown in autumn.
–
Winter shad
(Zool.)
,
the gizzard shad.
–
Winter sheldrake
(Zool.)
,
the goosander.
[Local, U. S.]
–
Winter sleep
(Zool.)
,
hibernation.
–
Winter snipe
(Zool.)
,
the dunlin.
–
Winter solstice
.
(Astron.)
See
Solstice
, 2.
–
Winter teal
(Zool.)
,
the green-winged teal.
–
Winter wagtail
(Zool.)
,
the gray wagtail (
Motacilla melanope
).
[Prov. Eng.]
–
Winter wheat
,
wheat sown in autumn, which lives during the winter, and ripens in the following summer.
–
Winter wren
(Zool.)
,
a small American wren (
Troglodytes hiemalis
) closely resembling the common wren.

Win′ter

,
Verb.
I.
[
imp. & p. p.
Wintered
;
p. pr. & vb. n.
Wintering
.]
To pass the winter; to hibernate;
as, to
winter
in Florida
.
Because the haven was not commodious to
winter
in, the more part advised to depart thence.
Acts xxvii. 12.

Win′ter

,
Verb.
I.
To keep, feed or manage, during the winter;
as, to winter young cattle on straw
.

Webster 1828 Edition

Winter

WINTER

,
Noun.
1.
The cold season of the year. Astronomically considered, winter commences in northern latitudes when the sun enters Capricorn, or at the solstice about the 21st of December, and ends at the equinox in March; but in ordinary discourse, the three winter months are December, January, and February. Our Saxon ancestors reckoned the years by winters; as ten winters; thirty winters. In tropical climates, there are two winters annually; but they cannot be said to be cold. In the temperate and frigid climates, there is one winter only in the year.
2.
The part of the printing press which sustains the carriage.

WINTER

,
Verb.
I.
To pass the winter. He wintered in Italy. Cattle winter well on good fodder.

WINTER

,
Verb.
T.
To feed or manage during the winter. To winter young cattle on straw, is not profitable. Delicate plants must be wintered under cover.

Definition 2024

Winter

Winter

See also: winter

English

Proper noun

Winter

  1. A surname​. (A common Germanic one.)
  2. A town and village in Wisconsin.

See also

Anagrams

German

Etymology

From Middle High German winder, winter, from Old High German wintar, from Proto-Germanic *wintruz. Compare Dutch and English winter, Danish vinter.

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /ˈvɪntɐ/

Noun

Winter m ‎(genitive Winters, plural Winter)

  1. winter

Declension

Derived terms

See also

Seasons in German · Jahreszeiten (layout · text)
Frühling ‎(“spring”) Sommer ‎(“summer”) Herbst ‎(“autumn”) Winter ‎(“winter”)

winter

winter

See also: Winter

English

Alternative forms

Noun

winter ‎(countable and uncountable, plural winters)

Winter in Austria
  1. Traditionally the fourth of the four seasons, typically regarded as being from December 23 to March 20 in continental regions of the Northern Hemisphere or the months of June, July and August in the Southern Hemisphere. It is the time when the sun is lowest in the sky, resulting in short days, and the time of year with the lowest atmospheric temperatures for the region.
    • a1420, The British Museum Additional MS, 12,056, “Wounds complicated by the Dislocation of a Bone”, in Robert von Fleischhacker, editor, Lanfranc's "Science of cirurgie.", London: K. Paul, Trench, Trübner & Co, translation of original by Lanfranc of Milan, published 1894, ISBN 1163911380, page 63:
      Ne take noon hede to brynge togidere þe parties of þe boon þat is to-broken or dislocate, til viij. daies ben goon in þe wyntir, & v. in þe somer; for þanne it schal make quytture, and be sikir from swellynge; & þanne brynge togidere þe brynkis eiþer þe disiuncture after þe techynge þat schal be seid in þe chapitle of algebra.
    • 1592, Shakespeare, Henry VI, Part 1:
      And after summer evermore succeeds / Barren winter, with his wrathful nipping cold.
    • 1785, William Cowper, “Tirocinium: or, A Review of Schools." in The Poems of William Cowper, Vol. II., The Press of C. Whittingham (1822), page 174:
      There shall he learn, ere sixteen winters old, / That [...]
    • 1897, William Morris, The Water of the Wondrous Isles, Vol. I, Longmans, Green and Co. (1914), page 2:
      [...] a woman, tall, and strong of aspect, of some thirty winters by seeming, [...]
  2. (figuratively) The period of decay, old age, death, or the like.
    • (Can we date this quote?), Wordsworth, (Please provide the title of the work):
      Life's autumn past, I stand on winter's verge.

Usage notes

  • Note that season names are usually spelled in all lowercase letters in English. This is contrast to the days of the week and months of the year, which are always spelled with a capitalized first letter, for example Thursday or September.

Derived terms

Related terms

Translations

See also

Seasons in English · seasons (layout · text)
spring summer fall, autumn winter

Verb

winter ‎(third-person singular simple present winters, present participle wintering, simple past and past participle wintered)

  1. (intransitive) To spend the winter (in a particular place).
    When they retired, they hoped to winter in Florida.‎
  2. (transitive) To store something (for instance animals) somewhere over winter to protect it from cold.

Derived terms

Translations

Statistics

Most common English words before 1923: fortune · glass · silver · #961: winter · expect · nation · legal

Anagrams

Afrikaans

Etymology

From Dutch winter.

Noun

winter ‎(plural winters)

  1. winter

Dutch

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /ˈʋɪn.tər/

Etymology

From Middle Dutch winter, from Old Dutch *wintar, from Proto-Germanic *wintruz. Compare West Frisian and English winter, German Winter, Danish vinter.

Noun

winter m ‎(plural winters, diminutive wintertje n)

  1. winter

See also

Old English

Etymology

From Proto-Germanic *wintruz, whence also Old Frisian winter, Old Saxon and Old High German wintar, Old Norse vetr and vintr, Gothic 𐍅𐌹𐌽𐍄𐍂𐌿𐍃 ‎(wintrus). Perhaps represents a nasalised variant of Proto-Indo-European *wed- (whence also English water, wet); but perhaps akin to Old English winistre ‎(“left (side)”), with original sense possibly a cardinal direction or possibly "unfavorable" .

Pronunciation

Noun

winter m

  1. winter (season)

Descendants

Scots

Etymology

From Old English winter, from Proto-Germanic *wintruz.

Noun

winter ‎(plural winters)

  1. winter

West Frisian

Etymology

From Old Frisian winter, from Proto-Germanic *wintruz. Compare Dutch and English winter, German Winter, Danish vinter.

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /vĩtər/

Noun

winter c ‎(plural winters)

  1. winter

Etymology

From Middle English winter, from Old English winter, from Proto-Germanic *wintruz ‎(“winter”). Cognate with West Frisian winter ‎(“winter”), Dutch winter ‎(“winter”), German Winter ‎(“winter”), Danish vinter ‎(“winter”), Swedish vinter ‎(“winter”), Icelandic vetur ‎(“winter”).

Pronunciation

  • enPR: wĭnʹtər
    • (UK) IPA(key): /ˈwɪntə(ɹ)/
    • (US, Canada) IPA(key): /ˈwɪntɚ/, [ˈwɪɾ̃ɚ]
  • Rhymes: -ɪntə(r)
  • Homophone: winner (US, Canada, some dialects)
  • IPA(key): /ˈwinter/

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