winnow

[win-oh] /ˈwɪn oʊ/
verb (used with object)
1.
to free (grain) from the lighter particles of chaff, dirt, etc., especially 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 followed 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
before 900; Middle English win(d)wen (v.), Old English windwian, derivative of wind wind1
Related forms
winnower, noun
unwinnowed, adjective
Examples from the web for winnow
  • Eliminate industries that overlap and winnow the list to five or six industries.
  • Gross and his colleagues winnow the list of possible explanations.
  • The science can and should help us winnow down the options.
  • But it still allows me to winnow down the future selection by giving feedback.
  • There will be public hearings, and a group of former comptrollers will winnow the field down to five contenders.
  • But the event can help winnow the middle of the field.
  • Many companies now use word-scanning technology to help them winnow out unqualified candidates.
  • To manage this onslaught the teams' computers have to perform triage, and winnow those events to a couple of hundred per second.
  • To manage this onslaught the teams' computers have to perform triage, and winnow those events to a couple hundred per second.
  • Somebody must winnow out the genuine contributions by reading everything, good and bad alike.
British Dictionary definitions for winnow

winnow

/ˈwɪnəʊ/
verb
1.
to separate (grain) from (chaff) by means of a wind or current of air
2.
(transitive) to examine in order to select the desirable elements
3.
(transitive) (archaic) to beat (the air) with wings
4.
(transitive) (rare) to blow upon; fan
noun
5.
  1. a device for winnowing
  2. the act or process of winnowing
Derived Forms
winnower, noun
Word Origin
Old English windwian; related to Old High German wintōn, Gothic diswinthjan, Latin ventilāre. See wind1
Word Origin and History for winnow
v.

Old English windwian, from wind "air in motion, paring down," see wind (n.1). Cognate with Old Norse vinza, Old High German winton "to fan, winnow," Gothic diswinþjan "to throw (grain) apart," Latin vannus "winnowing fan."

winnow in the Bible

Corn was winnowed, (1.) By being thrown up by a shovel against the wind. As a rule this was done in the evening or during the night, when the west wind from the sea was blowing, which was a moderate breeze and fitted for the purpose. The north wind was too strong, and the east wind came in gusts. (2.) By the use of a fan or van, by which the chaff was blown away (Ruth 3:2; Isa. 30:24; Jer. 4:11, 12; Matt. 3:12).