Winter
nounThe coldest season of the year, between autumn and spring.
How to spell winter
6 letters · 2 syllables
How to pronounce winter
Say the part in capitals loudest.
What does winter mean?
- nounThe coldest season of the year, between autumn and spring.
Winter in a sentence
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Heavy snow blocked the mountain pass throughout winter.
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They always book a holiday in the sun to escape the British winter.
Where does winter come from?
Language of origin: Germanic
Winter is a native English word that traces back to Old English 'winter', the name for the coldest season of the year. It descends from Proto-Germanic 'wintruz', shared with Dutch 'winter', German 'Winter', and Old Norse 'vetr', which shows how deeply it is rooted in the Germanic family. Scholars usually connect it to an ancient root meaning 'wet' or 'water', describing the season's rain, sleet, and slush rather than its cold. In older usage a 'winter' could even count a person's age, since speakers tallied years by the number of winters survived, much as poets still write of someone 'of many winters'. The spelling has stayed remarkably stable for over a thousand years, so the only real trap is the quiet -er ending and the single t.
How the word is built
- wint- (cold season, of Germanic origin)
- -er (noun suffix found in season names)
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