winter

pronunciation

How to pronounce winter in British English: UK [ˈwɪntə(r)] word uk audio image

How to pronounce winter in American English: US [ˈwɪntər] word us audio image

Noun:

the coldest season of the year; in the northern hemisphere it extends from the winter solstice to the vernal equinox
Verb:

spend the winter

Word Origin

winter: winter: [OE] Winter is a general Germanic word (German and Dutch spell it the same, Swedish and Danish have vinter). Its prehistoric ancestor was *wentrus, but the ultimate source of this is uncertain. It could well go back to a nasalized version of the Indo-European base *wed-, *wod-, *ud- ‘wet’ (source also of English otter, water and wet), in which case winter would be etymologically the ‘wet’ season. But an alternative theory traces it back to Indo- European *wind- ‘white’ (source of Breton gwenn, Welsh gwyn – which may underlie English penguin – and Irish fionn ‘white’), in which case it would denote the ‘white’ season.

winter (n.): Old English winter (plural wintru), "the fourth and coldest season of the year, winter," from Proto-Germanic *wintruz "winter" (cognates: Old Frisian, Dutch winter, Old Saxon, Old High German wintar, German winter, Danish and Swedish vinter, Gothic wintrus, Old Norse vetr "winter"), probably literally "the wet season," from PIE *wend-, from root *wed- (1) "water, wet" (see water (n.1)). On another old guess, cognate with Gaulish vindo-, Old Irish find "white." As an adjective in Old English. The Anglo-Saxons counted years in "winters," as in Old English ænetre "one-year-old;" and wintercearig, which might mean either "winter-sad" or "sad with years." Old Norse Vetrardag, first day of winter, was the Saturday that fell between Oct. 10 and 16.

winter (v.): "to pass the winter (in some place)," late 14c., from winter (n.). Related: Wintered; wintering.