winnow

<font size="-1" face="arial, helvetica"> <p> <strong> <font color="#000066">Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for August 19, 2021 is:</font> </strong> </p> <p> <strong>winnow</strong> &#149; \WIN-oh\&nbsp; &#149; <em>verb</em><br /> <p><em>Winnow</em> can mean "to remove people or things that are less important or desirable" or, generally, "to make a list of possible choices smaller."</p> <p>//The search committee is finding it extremely difficult to <em>winnow</em> the list of job candidates; many of them are highly qualified and desirable.</p> <p><a href="https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/winnow">See the entry ></a></p> </p> <p> <strong>Examples:</strong><br /> <p>"Cast members apply for the positions. The field is <em>winnowed</em> down through interviews until the final two are selected." — Dewayne Bevil, <em>The Orlando (Florida) Sentinel</em>, 30 June 2021</p> </p> <p> <strong>Did you know?</strong><br /> <p>Beginning as <em>windwian</em> in Old English, <em>winnow</em> first referred to the removal of <a href="https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/chaff">chaff</a> from grain by a current of air. This use was soon extended to describe the removal of anything undesirable or unwanted (a current example of this sense would be "winnowing out sensitive material"). People then began using the word for the selection of the most desirable elements (as in "winnowing out the qualified applicants"). The association of <em>winnow</em> with the movement of air led to the meanings "to brandish" and "to beat with or as if with wings," but those uses are now rare. The last meanings blew in around the beginning of the 19th century. They are "to blow on" and "to blow in gusts."</p> <br /><br /> </p> </font>