wine

WYN/waɪn/

7 meanings of wine

1
grape drinknouncountable or uncountable
An alcoholic drink made by fermenting grape juice, or a glass or kind of it.
We opened a bottle of wine to celebrate.
She prefers red wine with dinner.
UsageUse a glass of wine or some wine. A wine can mean a kind or, when ordering, a glass.
Note
Vine and vino are its doublets, the same word reaching English by other roads. As a mass noun it names the drink itself, as in Hemingway's A Moveable Feast (1964): "we thought of wine as something as healthy and normal as food."
Checked 2 Nov 2026 · 4 facts
Vine is an etymological doublet of wine. en.wiktionary.org
Vino is an etymological doublet of wine, borrowed through Italian or Spanish. en.wiktionary.org
Ernest Hemingway wrote A Moveable Feast, first published in 1964. simonandschuster.net
The quoted words occur in Hemingway's narration in A Moveable Feast; they are an excerpt from a longer sentence. en.wiktionary.org
2
from other plantsnouncountable or uncountable
An alcoholic beverage made by fermenting substances other than grapes, producing a similar alcohol content.
The farmhouse was famous for its homemade dandelion wine.
Many cultures ferment rice into a clear, potent wine.
UsageName the source first: rice wine, plum wine, dandelion wine.
3
dark rednoununcountable
A deep reddish-purple color, like that of red wine.
She wore a wine dress to the gala.
The walls were painted a rich wine.
UsageOften before a noun (a wine dress) or as wine red.
Similarburgundy, maroon, claret, plum

Less common meanings

4
treat to drinksverbtransitive
To entertain a person by providing them with wine, often as part of hospitality.
Sales reps spent the week wining and dining a potential client in hopes of landing the contract.
Universities often wine and dine visiting scholars in the days before a major conference.
UsageMostly in wine and dine someone.
Similarentertain, treat, regale
Note
Its natural home is the rhyming pair wine and dine, as in Lee Meriwether's The War Diary of a Diplomat (1919): "being wined and dined by perfect strangers." The fixed pairing carries the sense of lavish, attentive hospitality.
Checked 2 Nov 2026 · 2 facts
Lee Meriwether wrote The War Diary of a Diplomat, published in 1919. commons.wikimedia.org
The quoted words occur in Meriwether's book. en.wiktionary.org
5
sipverbrareintransitive
To drink wine.
I rushed into my cabin, coffeed, wined, and went to bed sobbing.
1839, Thomas Chandler Haliburton, The Clockmaker
Similardrink, imbibe
Note
Where the hospitality verb needs a guest as its object, this one stands alone, and the drinker does the wining. The Nova Scotian humorist Thomas Chandler Haliburton sets it beside a sister verb: "coffeed, wined, and went to bed." Both are drink names used as verbs.
Checked 2 Nov 2026 · 1 fact
Thomas Chandler Haliburton was a Nova Scotian humorist. en.wikipedia.org
6
Jamaican danceverbintransitive
To dance by rhythmically rotating the hips, especially to Caribbean music such as dancehall or soca.
Crowds wine and sway whenever the sound system starts playing soca.
She wined to the dancehall beat all night.
UsageDancers wine to the music or wine on a partner.
Similargyrate, grind
Note
A dance word with nothing to do with the drink: it comes from Jamaican Creole and is akin to the verb wind. The dancer winds the hips and waist in rolling circles, and the word also turns up in dance names such as the Dutty Wine. Shaggy's 1993 dancehall cover of "Oh Carolina" uses the verb, and people speak of wining to soca or dancehall.
Checked 3 Nov 2026 · 6 facts
The dance verb has a separate origin from the drink noun: it comes from Jamaican Creole and is related to wind. en.wiktionary.org
Wining involves rolling the hips. catalog.williams.edu
Dutty Wine is a dance name containing the word. en.wiktionary.org
Shaggy released a cover of Oh Carolina in 1993. en.wikipedia.org
Shaggy's version is a dancehall remake. en.wikipedia.org
Shaggy uses the dance verb wine in Oh Carolina. en.wiktionary.org
7
noundialectalBritish
Air in natural motion across the land or sea; wind.
Vor voices rawze upon tha wine
1850, James Orchard Halliwell, A Dictionary of Archaic and Provincial Words

Practice

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Origins

Meanings 1–5

From Middle English "wyn", from Old English "wīn", going back to Proto-Germanic "*wīną" (either directly or by way of Latin "vīnum") and ultimately from a Proto-Indo-European root for "wine". It is a doublet of "vine" and "vino".

Checked 30 Oct 2026 · 5 facts

Wine comes through Middle English wyn and Old English wīn from Proto-Germanic *wīną. en.wiktionary.org
The Germanic form may derive directly from Indo-European or through Latin vīnum. en.wiktionary.org
The ancestry includes a reconstructed Proto-Indo-European word for wine. en.wiktionary.org
Wine and vine are doublets. en.wiktionary.org
Wine and vino are doublets. en.wiktionary.org

Meaning 6

From Jamaican Creole, related to the verb "wind".

Checked 30 Oct 2026 · 2 facts

The dancing verb wine comes from Jamaican Creole. en.wiktionary.org
Wine is etymologically related to the verb wind. en.wiktionary.org