winnowing

win·now

 (wĭn′ō)

v. win·nowed, win·now·ing, win·nows

v.tr.

1. To separate the chaff from (grain) by means of a current of air.

2. To blow (chaff) off or away.

3. To examine closely in order to separate the good from the bad; sift: The judges winnowed a thousand essays down to six finalists.

4.

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: The investigators winnowed the facts from the testimony.

5. To blow on; fan: a breeze winnowing the tall grass.

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.]

---

win′now·er n.

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

Thesaurus

Noun

1.

winnowing - the act of separating grain from chaff; "the winnowing was done by women" sifting, winnow separation - sorting one thing from others; "the separation of wheat from chaff"; "the separation of mail by postal zones"

Based on WordNet 3.0, Farlex clipart collection. © 2003-2012 Princeton University, Farlex Inc.

Translations

vaglio

веяние