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wind·er¹

(wīndər)

1. One that winds, especially a textile worker or machine that winds cloth or materials.

2. An object, such as a spool or barrel, around which material is wound.

3. A device, such as a key, for winding up a spring-driven mechanism.

4. One of the steps of a winding staircase.

win·der²

(wĭndər)

n.
Upper Southern US

Variant of window. See Note at holler².

wind³

(wīnd, wĭnd)

tr.v. wind·ed (wīndĭd, wĭn-) or wound (wound), wind·ing, winds
Music

1. To blow (a wind instrument).

2. To sound by blowing.

[From WIND¹.]

winder n.

Indo-European & Semitic Roots Appendices

Thousands of entries in the dictionary include etymologies that trace their origins back to reconstructed proto-languages. You can obtain more information about these forms in our online appendices:

Indo-European Roots

Semitic Roots

The Indo-European appendix covers nearly half of the Indo-European roots that have left their mark on English words. A more complete treatment of Indo-European roots and the English words derived from them is available in our Dictionary of Indo-European Roots.

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