{"id":3730,"date":"2025-01-04T14:58:02","date_gmt":"2025-01-04T14:58:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.omniglot.com\/radio\/?p=3730"},"modified":"2025-08-09T11:28:03","modified_gmt":"2025-08-09T11:28:03","slug":"adventures-in-etymology-windy-wings","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.omniglot.com\/radio\/?p=3730","title":{"rendered":"Adventures in Etymology &#8211; Windy Wings"},"content":{"rendered":"<div itemscope itemtype=\"http:\/\/schema.org\/AudioObject\"><meta itemprop=\"name\" content=\"Adventures in Etymology &amp;#8211; Windy Wings\" \/><meta itemprop=\"uploadDate\" content=\"2025-01-04T14:58:02+00:00\" \/><meta itemprop=\"encodingFormat\" content=\"audio\/mpeg\" \/><meta itemprop=\"duration\" content=\"PT2M12S\" \/><meta itemprop=\"description\" content=\"In this Adventure in Etymology, we find connections between the words wing, wind and feather.\n\n\n\nA wing [w\u026a\u014b] is:\n\n\nAn appendage of an animal's (bird, bat, insect) body that enables it to fly. \nA fin at the side of a ray or similar fish.\nPart of an a...\" \/><meta itemprop=\"contentUrl\" content=\"https:\/\/media.blubrry.com\/radio_omniglot\/www.omniglot.com\/soundfiles\/etymology\/windywings.mp3\" \/><meta itemprop=\"contentSize\" content=\"2.4\" \/><div class=\"powerpress_player\" id=\"powerpress_player_5534\"><audio class=\"wp-audio-shortcode\" id=\"audio-3730-1\" preload=\"none\" style=\"width: 100%;\" controls=\"controls\"><source type=\"audio\/mpeg\" src=\"https:\/\/media.blubrry.com\/radio_omniglot\/www.omniglot.com\/soundfiles\/etymology\/windywings.mp3?_=1\" \/><a href=\"https:\/\/media.blubrry.com\/radio_omniglot\/www.omniglot.com\/soundfiles\/etymology\/windywings.mp3\">https:\/\/media.blubrry.com\/radio_omniglot\/www.omniglot.com\/soundfiles\/etymology\/windywings.mp3<\/a><\/audio><\/div><\/div><p class=\"powerpress_links powerpress_links_mp3\" style=\"margin-bottom: 1px !important;\">Podcast: <a href=\"https:\/\/media.blubrry.com\/radio_omniglot\/www.omniglot.com\/soundfiles\/etymology\/windywings.mp3\" class=\"powerpress_link_pinw\" target=\"_blank\" title=\"Play in new window\" onclick=\"return powerpress_pinw('https:\/\/www.omniglot.com\/radio\/?powerpress_pinw=3730-podcast');\" rel=\"nofollow\">Play in new window<\/a> | <a href=\"https:\/\/media.blubrry.com\/radio_omniglot\/www.omniglot.com\/soundfiles\/etymology\/windywings.mp3\" class=\"powerpress_link_d\" title=\"Download\" rel=\"nofollow\" download=\"windywings.mp3\">Download<\/a><\/p><p>In this Adventure in Etymology, we find connections between the words <strong>wing<\/strong>, <strong>wind<\/strong> and <strong>feather<\/strong>.<\/p>\n<p><a data-flickr-embed=\"true\" href=\"https:\/\/www.flickr.com\/photos\/aarmo\/43739697352\/in\/photolist-29D8o9Y-6VkBMq-24gxYB9-27x3Zc7-26yqaN8-22qs5vq-25zc2fz-EPZf95-GykLfF-24NWFJ8-p2qrAe-RAknTL-QReFRo-Ya8n6W-26bRva1-2982LzU-6xSCwA-DZtvgM-neUfHa-6VkC77-2aHC8TL-GHaXWd-K2RNk4-dwJdMz-ZGbNXY-CjUv2F-TMi62M-zTCDyU-y3BbWG-25nkvND-5XneGT-jd3FS-FFsCuy-6VkzJo-EBH769-xaMNZd-23xk2qX-9gbvri-GC6kK3-UJZTDx-ZvFnur-ZJGHau-b58mYi-CsQqHu-CYXHH8-rfV3Yt-22Wiabv-24gK8Kh-qoXWgx-rFh1Uy\" title=\"Soaring gull\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/live.staticflickr.com\/1835\/43739697352_47ae802f71_z.jpg\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" alt=\"Soaring gull\"\/><\/a><script async src=\"\/\/embedr.flickr.com\/assets\/client-code.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p>A <strong>wing<\/strong> [w\u026a\u014b] is:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>An appendage of an animal&#8217;s (bird, bat, insect) body that enables it to fly. <\/li>\n<li>A fin at the side of a ray or similar fish.<\/li>\n<li>Part of an aircraft that produces the lift for rising into the air. <em>(other meanings are available<\/em>)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>It comes from Middle English <em>winge \/ wenge<\/em> [\u02c8win\u0261(\u0259) \/ \u02c8w\u025bn\u0261(\u0259)] (wing, flank of an army, shelter, refuge), from Old Norse <em>v\u00e6ngr<\/em> [\u02c8w\u025b\u0303\u02d0\u014b\u0261r\u0329] (wing), possibly from Proto-Germanic <em>*w\u0113ingijaz<\/em>, from Proto-Indo-European <em>*h\u2082weh\u2081-<\/em> (to blow) [<a href=\"https:\/\/en.wiktionary.org\/wiki\/wing#English\">source<\/a>].<\/p>\n<p>Words from the same Old Norse root include <strong>vinge<\/strong> (wing) in Danish, <strong>v\u00e6ngur<\/strong> (wing) in Icelandic, and <strong>vinge<\/strong> (wing) in Swedish [<a href=\"https:\/\/en.wiktionary.org\/wiki\/v%C3%A6ngr#Old_Norse\">source<\/a>].<\/p>\n<p>Words from the same PIE root possibly include <strong>aeroplane<\/strong>, <strong>athlete<\/strong>, <strong>fan<\/strong>, <strong>vent<\/strong>, and <strong>weather<\/strong> in English, <strong>waaien<\/strong> (to blow, be windy, wave) in Dutch, <strong>vento<\/strong> (wind) Italian, and <strong>vent<\/strong> (wind, flatulence, empty words) in French [<a href=\"https:\/\/en.wiktionary.org\/wiki\/Reconstruction:Proto-Indo-European\/h%E2%82%82weh%E2%82%81-\">source<\/a>].<\/p>\n<p>The English word <strong>wind<\/strong> [w\u026and] also comes from the same roots, via Middle English <em>wynd \/ wind<\/em> [wi(\u02d0)nd] (wind), from Old English <em>wind<\/em> [wind] (wind, flatulence), from Proto-West-Germanic <em>*wind<\/em> (wind from Proto-Germanic <em>*windaz<\/em> [\u02c8win.d\u0251z] (wind) from Proto-Indo-European <em>h\u2082w\u00e9h\u2081n\u0325ts<\/em> (blowing, that which blows, air, wind), from <em>*h\u2082weh\u2081-<\/em> (to blow) [<a href=\"https:\/\/en.wiktionary.org\/wiki\/wind#English\">source<\/a>].<\/p>\n<p>Incidentally, in Old Englsh, a word for <strong>wing<\/strong> was <em>fi\u00fere<\/em> [\u02c8fi\u03b8.re], which was displaced by the Old Norse <em>v\u00e6ngr<\/em> (wing). It comes from Proto-Germanic <em>*fi\u00ferij\u0105<\/em> [\u0278i.\u03b8ri.j\u0251\u0303] (feathers, plummage, wing) from Proto-Indo-European <em>*p\u00e9th\u2082r\u0325 \/ pth\u2082\u00e9n-<\/em> (wing, feather), from <em>*peth\u2082-<\/em> (to fly). It became <em>fe\u00feer \/ fether<\/em> (feather) in Middle English, and <strong>feather<\/strong> in modern English. [<a href=\"https:\/\/en.wiktionary.org\/wiki\/fi%C3%BEre#Old_English\">source<\/a>].<\/p>\n<p>By the way, Happy New Year! Blwyddyn newydd dda! Bonne ann\u00e9e ! \u00a1Feliz A\u00f1o Nuevo! \u65b0\u5e74\u5feb\u6a02\uff01 \u65b0\u5e74\u5feb\u4e50\uff01 Felice anno nuovo! \u65b0\u5e74\u304a\u3081\u3067\u3068\u3046\u3054\u3056\u3044\u307e\u3059! Bliain \u00far faoi sh\u00e9an is faoi mhaise duit! Bliadhna mhath \u00f9r! Blein Vie Noa! Ein gutes neues Jahr! Feli\u0109an novan jaron! \u041f\u043e\u0437\u0434\u0440\u0430\u0432\u043b\u044f\u044e \u0441 \u041d\u043e\u0432\u044b\u043c \u0413\u043e\u0434\u043e\u043c! \u0160\u0165astn\u00fd nov\u00fd rok! Godt nyt\u00e5r! Gott nytt \u00e5r! La Mul\u021bi Ani! Onnellista uutta vuotta! \ud83c\udf86\ud83c\udf89\ud83e\udd42\ud83e\udd73<\/p>\n<p>You can also listen to this podcast on: <a href=\"https:\/\/podcasts.apple.com\/gb\/podcast\/radio-omniglot\/id1432641094\">Apple Podcasts<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/music.amazon.com\/podcasts\/8b1b1d1b-b39e-4277-b28d-479a3b5043b3\/radio-omniglot\">Amazon Music<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/tunein.com\/podcasts\/Education-Podcasts\/Radio-Omniglot-p1154145\/\">TuneIn<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.podchaser.com\/podcasts\/radio-omniglot-716327\">Podchaser<\/a>, <a href=\"<a href=\"https:\/\/podbay.fm\/p\/radio-omniglot\">Podbay<\/a> or <a href=\"https:\/\/podtail.com\/da\/podcast\/radio-omniglot\/\">Podtail<\/a> and other pod places.<\/p>\n<p>If you would like to support this podcast, you can make a donation via <a href=\"https:\/\/www.paypal.com\/uk\/cgi-bin\/webscr?cmd=_flow&amp;SESSION=aLjPfXL-vP_1gQ_U23Iz8_hSWLlhzLHPMFZrt32dIEfG8htoNFLYaPoWkv8&amp;dispatch=5885d80a13c0db1f8e263663d3faee8def8934b92a630e40b7fef61ab7e9fe63\">PayPal<\/a> or <a href=\"https:\/\/www.patreon.com\/omniglot\">Patreon<\/a>, or <a href=\"http:\/\/www.omniglot.com\/donations.htm\">contribute to Omniglot in other ways<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>Radio Omniglot podcasts are brought to you in association with <a href=\"https:\/\/blubrry.com\/services\/podcast-hosting\/?code=omniglot\">Blubrry Podcast Hosting<\/a>, a great place to host your podcasts. Get your first month free with the promo code <strong>omniglot<\/strong>.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.japanesepod101.com\/member\/go.php?r=759259&amp;i=b0\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.omniglot.com\/images\/banners\/banner_japanesepod.jpg\" alt=\"The Fastest Way to Learn Japanese Guaranteed with JapanesePod101.com\" width=\"630\" height=\"83\"><\/a><\/p>\n<p>I also write about words, etymology and other language-related topics on the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.omniglot.com\/bloggle\/\">Omniglot Blog<\/a>, and I explore etymological connections between Celtic languages on the <a href=\"http:\/\/www.omniglot.com\/celtiadur\/\">Celtiadur<\/a> blog.<\/p>\n<div align=\"center\"><a href=\"http:\/\/my.kualo.com\/uk\/go\/00572\" target=\"_blank\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.kualo.com\/rewards\/uk-unlimited-728x90.gif\" width=\"728\" height=\"90\" border=\"0\"\nalt=\"Unlimited Web Hosting - Kualo\"\/><\/a><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<div itemscope itemtype=\"http:\/\/schema.org\/AudioObject\"><meta itemprop=\"name\" content=\"Adventures in Etymology &amp;#8211; Windy Wings\" \/><meta itemprop=\"uploadDate\" content=\"2025-01-04T14:58:02+00:00\" \/><meta itemprop=\"encodingFormat\" content=\"audio\/mpeg\" \/><meta itemprop=\"duration\" content=\"PT2M12S\" \/><meta itemprop=\"description\" content=\"In this Adventure in Etymology, we find connections between the words wing, wind and feather.\n\n\n\nA wing [w\u026a\u014b] is:\n\n\nAn appendage of an animal's (bird, bat, insect) body that enables it to fly. \nA fin at the side of a ray or similar fish.\nPart of an a...\" \/><meta itemprop=\"contentUrl\" content=\"https:\/\/media.blubrry.com\/radio_omniglot\/www.omniglot.com\/soundfiles\/etymology\/windywings.mp3\" \/><meta itemprop=\"contentSize\" content=\"2.4\" \/><div class=\"powerpress_player\" id=\"powerpress_player_5535\"><audio class=\"wp-audio-shortcode\" id=\"audio-3730-2\" preload=\"none\" style=\"width: 100%;\" controls=\"controls\"><source type=\"audio\/mpeg\" src=\"https:\/\/media.blubrry.com\/radio_omniglot\/www.omniglot.com\/soundfiles\/etymology\/windywings.mp3?_=2\" \/><a href=\"https:\/\/media.blubrry.com\/radio_omniglot\/www.omniglot.com\/soundfiles\/etymology\/windywings.mp3\">https:\/\/media.blubrry.com\/radio_omniglot\/www.omniglot.com\/soundfiles\/etymology\/windywings.mp3<\/a><\/audio><\/div><\/div><p class=\"powerpress_links powerpress_links_mp3\" style=\"margin-bottom: 1px !important;\">Podcast: <a href=\"https:\/\/media.blubrry.com\/radio_omniglot\/www.omniglot.com\/soundfiles\/etymology\/windywings.mp3\" class=\"powerpress_link_pinw\" target=\"_blank\" title=\"Play in new window\" onclick=\"return powerpress_pinw('https:\/\/www.omniglot.com\/radio\/?powerpress_pinw=3730-podcast');\" rel=\"nofollow\">Play in new window<\/a> | <a href=\"https:\/\/media.blubrry.com\/radio_omniglot\/www.omniglot.com\/soundfiles\/etymology\/windywings.mp3\" class=\"powerpress_link_d\" title=\"Download\" rel=\"nofollow\" download=\"windywings.mp3\">Download<\/a><\/p><p>In this Adventure in Etymology, we find connections between the words wing, wind and feather. A wing [w\u026a\u014b] is: An appendage of an animal&#8217;s (bird, bat, insect) body that enables it to fly. A fin at the side of a ray or similar fish. Part of an aircraft that produces the lift for rising into [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[98,31,47,20,56,23,29,12,4,58,11,55,64,1,57,59,119,30],"tags":[90,191,9,167,15,88,8,189,190,103],"class_list":["post-3730","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-adventures-in-etymology","category-danish","category-dutch","category-english","category-etymology","category-french","category-icelandic","category-italian","category-language","category-middle-english","category-music","category-old-english-aenglisc","category-old-norse-dnsk-tunga","category-podcast","category-proto-germanic","category-proto-indo-european","category-proto-west-germanic","category-swedish","tag-etymology","tag-feather","tag-language","tag-linguistics","tag-music","tag-omniglot","tag-podcast","tag-wind","tag-wing","tag-words"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.omniglot.com\/radio\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3730","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.omniglot.com\/radio\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.omniglot.com\/radio\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.omniglot.com\/radio\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.omniglot.com\/radio\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=3730"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/www.omniglot.com\/radio\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3730\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4047,"href":"https:\/\/www.omniglot.com\/radio\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3730\/revisions\/4047"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.omniglot.com\/radio\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=3730"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.omniglot.com\/radio\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=3730"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.omniglot.com\/radio\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=3730"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}