That’s not what etymology is
Fair enough. I was trying to think of another way of saying what I mean and I can’t think of a punchy way of saying it. Do you have one in mind?
The phrase “long-winded” could be reinterpreted as containing the non-standard past tense of the verb “to wind”, “winded”, and it would still make logical sense.
Something like that.
You don’t mean “etymological sense”; only one of these is the correct etymology
Fair enough. I can’t think of a punchy way of saying what I mean. Do you know what I mean? And how could I have said it?
I’d just leave the word out! Or maybe “kind of”. Or “semantic” is an option but I’m not sure about it.
I see what you mean, but if I were to nitpik, I’d say the past tense participle of “wind” is “wound”, not “winded”.
Thanks for pointing it out. I actually had the same question and…
Merriam-Webster says “wound” and “winded” are interchangeable: https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/wind
… That makes me viscerally uncomfortable, and I’m going to be putting it into my daily vocabulary.
TIL
They should add winderised too if they’re going to do that. (sample usage: me, just now)
Also, your username gave me flashbacks lol. I read it in Cuno’s voice
Yea, think about that rabid Cuno shit
You sure about this?
I was quite sure when I originally posted.
Then someone said it’s “wound” and not “winded”, but the dictionary said either is fine.
Then you asked me if I was sure. And now I’m not so sure.
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No need to get all wounded up, weather, it blows like the wind, or is winded like a clock.
The first “wind” is as in “I donned my wind-breaker because the weather was windy”. In this context, a “long-winded response” would be one in which the speaker had to inhale quite a bit to speak, a long wind!
The second “wind” is as in “I wound up the toy car and, when I released it, it zoomed all the way to the other side of the room”. In this context, a “long-winded response” is one that metaphorically winded the coils that make the speaker go.
The second “wind” is as in “I wound up the toy car and, when I released it, it zoomed all the way to the other side of the room”. In this context, a “long-winded response” is one that metaphorically winded the coils that make the speaker go.
The more primary meaning is this one (copied from Oxford Dictionary of English): move in or take a twisting or spiral course. The etymology of the verb ‘wind’ (also from ODE) is: Old English windan ‘go rapidly’, ‘twine’, of Germanic origin; related to wander and wend. Long-winded = the speaker’s words/thoughts wander in circles for a long time.
Love it. Thanks for the research and for sharing it!
Wind as in the weather phenomenon.
It’s pronounced “wind”. Duh.
