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winnow
(redirected from winnows)

   Also found in: Encyclopedia, Wikipedia 0.04 sec.
win·now  (wn)
v. win·nowed, win·now·ing, win·nows
v.tr.
1.
a. To separate the chaff from (grain) by means of a current of air.
b. To rid of undesirable parts.
2. To blow (chaff) off or away.
3. To blow away; scatter.
4. To blow on; fan: a breeze winnowing the tall grass.
5. To examine closely in order to separate the good from the bad; sift.
6.
a. To separate or get rid of (an undesirable part); eliminate: winnowing out the errors in logic.
b. To sort or select (a desirable part); extract.
v.intr.
1. To separate grain from chaff.
2. To separate the good from the bad.
n.
1. A device for winnowing grain.
2. An act of winnowing.

[Middle English winnewen, alteration of windwen, from Old English windwian, from wind, wind; see wind1.]

winnow·er n.

winnow
Verb
1. to separate (grain) from (chaff) by a current of air
2. (often foll. by out)to separate out (an unwanted element): the committee will need to winnow out the nonsense [Old English windwian]
ThesaurusLegend:  Synonyms Related Words Antonyms
Noun1.winnowwinnow - the act of separating grain from chaff; "the winnowing was done by women"
separation - sorting one thing from others; "the separation of wheat from chaff"; "the separation of mail by postal zones"
Verb1.winnow - separate the chaff from by using air currents; "She stood there winnowing chaff all day in the field"
sift, sieve, strain - separate by passing through a sieve or other straining device to separate out coarser elements; "sift the flour"
2.winnow - blow on; "The wind was winnowing her hair"; "the wind winnowed the grass"
fan - agitate the air
3.winnow - 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"
choose, pick out, select, take - pick out, select, or choose from a number of alternatives; "Take any one of these cards"; "Choose a good husband for your daughter"; "She selected a pair of shoes from among the dozen the salesgirl had shown her"
4.winnow - blow away or off with a current of air; "winnow chaff"
remove, take away, withdraw, take - remove something concrete, as by lifting, pushing, or taking off, or remove something abstract; "remove a threat"; "remove a wrapper"; "Remove the dirty dishes from the table"; "take the gun from your pocket"; "This machine withdraws heat from the environment"
Translations
winnow
v winnow [ˈwinəu]
to separate the chaff from (the grain) by wind. wan يُذَرّي، يُغَرْبِل пресявам provívat skille avner fra korn ved at kaste det op i luften worfeln λιχνίζω aventar tuulama غربال کردن tuultaa vanner לְנַפּוֹת फटकना rešetati, lučiti rostál menampi hreinsa hismi úr korni með blæstri spulare 吹き分ける (곡물 등을 겉겨에서) 까불러 가리다 vėtyti vētīt mengangin; menampi wannen rense korn ved blåsing przewiać (zboże) poeirar a vântura отвеивать (pre)osiať, previať vejati vrći žito vanna, skilja, sålla พัดหรือเป่าเอาแกลบข้าวออก; ร่อนข้าว harman/tahıl savurmak 揚(穀物) віяти; відсівати ہوا کے ذریعے بھوسا اڑا کر غلہ صاف کرنا sàng 扬(


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