Online Etymology Dictionary

windy (adj.): Old English windig; see wind (n.1) + -y (2).
wine (n.): Old English win, from Proto-Germanic *winam (cf. Old Saxon, Old Frisian, Old High German win, Old Norse vin, Dutch wijn, German Wein), an early borrowing from Latin vinum "wine," from PIE *win-o-, from an Italic noun related to words for "wine" in Greek (oinos), Armenian, Hittite, and non-Indo-European Georgian and West Semitic (cf. Arabic wain, Hebrew yayin), probably from a lost Mediterranean language word *win-/*woin- "wine." Also from Latin vinum are Old Church Slavonic vino, Lithuanian vynas, Welsh gwin, Old Irish fin. Essentially the same word as vine (q.v.). Wine snob is recorded from 1951.
wine (v.): "entertain with wine," 1862, from wine (n.). Related: Wined; wining.
winebibber (n.): "drunkard," 1530s, loan-translation of German Weinsäufer (Luther), from Wein "wine" + Säufer "bibber." See bibber.
winery (n.): 1882, American English, from wine (n.) + -ery.
Winfred: masc. proper name, from Old English Winfrið, literally "friend of peace," from wine "friend" (related to winnan "to strive, struggle, fight;" see win) + friðu "peace" (see free)
wing (n.): late 12c., wenge, from Old Norse vængr "wing of a bird, aisle, etc." (cf. Danish and Swedish vinge "wing"), of unknown origin, perhaps from a Proto-Germanic *we-ingjaz and ultimately from PIE root *we- "blow" (cf. Old English wawan "to blow;" see wind (n.)). Replaced Old English feðra (plural) "wings" (see feather). The meaning "either of two divisions of a political party, army, etc." is first recorded c.1400; theatrical sense is from 1790.

Verbal phrase wing it (1885) is from theatrical slang sense of an actor learning his lines in the wings before going onstage, or else not learning them at all and being fed by a prompter in the wings. The verb to wing "shoot a bird in the wing" is from 1802. The slang sense of to earn (one's) wings is 1940s, from the wing-shaped badges awarded to air cadets on graduation. To be under (someone's) wing "protected by (someone)" is recorded from early 13c. Phrase on a wing and a prayer is title of a 1943 song about landing a damaged aircraft.
wingding (n.): 1927, originally hobo slang, "counterfeit seizures induced to attract sympathy;" meaning "energetic celebration" first recorded 1949.
wingman (n.): pilot of the plane beside the lead aircraft in a formation, 1943 (earlier as a football position), from wing (n.) + man (n.). With figurative extensions, including the dating-sidekick one that was in use by 2006.
wingnut (n.): "nut with flared sides for turning with the thumb and forefinger;" so called for its shape. Meaning "weird person" recorded by 1989, probably not from the literal sense but from the secondary sense of nut, influenced perhaps by slang senses of wing in wing-ding "wild party," originally "fit, spasm" (1937). An earlier, British, sense of wingnut was "person with large, protruding ears" (1986).
wingspan (n.): also wing-span, 1894, from wing (n.) + span (n.1).
wink (v.): Old English wincian "to nod, wink," from Proto-Germanic *wenkanan (cf. Dutch wenken, Old High German winkan, German winken), a gradational variant of the root of Old High German wankon "to stagger, totter," Old Norse vakka "to stray, hover," from PIE *weng- "to bend, curve." The meaning "close an eye as a hint or signal" is first recorded c.1100; that of "close one's eyes to fault or irregularity" first attested late 15c. Related: Winked; winking.
wink (n.): c.1300, from wink (v.); meaning "very brief moment of time" is attested from 1580s.
winkle (n.): edible mollusk, 1580s, shortening of periwinkle (n.2).
Winnebago: "Siouan people of eastern Wisconsin," 1766, from Potawatomi winepyekoha, literally "person of dirty water," in reference to the muddy or fish-clogged waters of the Fox River below Lake Winnebago. As a type of motor vehicle, attested from 1966.
winner (n.): mid-14c., agent noun from win (v.).
Winnipeg: originally the name of the lake, probably from Ojibwa (Algonquian) winipeg "dirty water;" cf. winad "it is dirty." Etymologically related to Winnebago.
winnow (v.): Old English windwian, from wind "air in motion, paring down," see wind (n.1). Cognate with Old Norse vinza, Old High German winton "to fan, winnow," Gothic diswinþjan "to throw (grain) apart," Latin vannus "winnowing fan."
wino (n.): 1915, from wine + suffix as in bucko (1833) and kiddo (1896).
winsome (adj.): Old English wynsum "agreeable, pleasant," from wynn "pleasure, delight" (cf. German Wonne "joy, delight;" see win) + -sum "-some." Apparently surviving only in northern English dialect for 400 years until revived 18c. by Hamilton, Burns, and other Scot. poets.
winter (n.): Old English, "fourth season of the year," from Proto-Germanic *wentruz (cf. Old Frisian, Dutch winter, Old Saxon, Old High German wintar, German winter, Danish and Swedish vinter, Gothic wintrus, Old Norse vetr "winter"), possibly from PIE *wed-/*wod-/*ud- "wet" (see water), or from *wind- "white" (cf. Celtic vindo- "white").

The Anglo-Saxons counted years in "winters," cf. Old English ænetre "one-year-old." Old Norse Vetrardag, first day of winter, was the Saturday that fell between Oct. 10 and 16.
winter (v.): "to pass the winter (in some place)," late 14c., from winter (n.). Related: Wintered; wintering.
wintergreen (n.): type of plant, 1540s, from winter (n.) + green.
winterize (v.): 1938, on model of earlier summerize (1935); from winter (n.) + -ize. Related: Winterized; winterizing.
wintry (adj.): Old English wintrig; see winter + -y (2); "but modern use a new formation" [OED].
wipe (n.): "disposable absorbent tissue," 1971, from wipe (v.).
wipe (v.): Old English wipan, from Proto-Germanic *wipanan (cf. Danish vippe, Middle Dutch, Dutch vippen, Old High German wifan "to swing"), from PIE *weip- "to turn, vacillate, tremble" (cf. Latin vibrare "to shake;" see vibrate).
wipeout (n.): 1962, American English, surfer slang, from wipe (v.) + out. Sense of "destruction, defeat, a killing" is recorded from 1968.
wire (n.): Old English wir "metal drawn out into a thread," from Proto-Germanic *wiraz (cf. Old Norse viravirka "filigree work," Swedish vira "to twist," Old High German wiara "fine gold work"), from PIE *wei- "to turn, twist, plait" (cf. Old Irish fiar, Welsh gwyr "bent, crooked;" Latin viere "to bend, twist," viriæ "bracelets," of Celtic origin). Wiretapping is recorded from 1904, from earlier wiretapper (1893). Wirepuller in the political sense is 1848, American English.
wire (v.): "to furnish with wires," mid-15c., from wire (n.). Related: Wired; wiring.
wired (adj.): "nervous, jittery," by 1970s; earlier (1959, perhaps early 1950s) as "using narcotic drugs, addicted to drugs;" from past participle of wire (v.).
wireless: 1894, as a type of telegraph, from wire (n.) + -less. In reference to radio broadcasting, attested from 1903, subsequently superseded by radio.
wiring (n.): "wires collectively," 1809, later especially "electrical wirework," from present participle of wire (v.).
wiry (adj.): 1580s, "made of wire," from wire (n.) + -y (2). As "resembling wire," From 1590s; sense of "lean, tough" is first recorded 1808. Related: Wiriness.
Wisconsin: organized as a U.S. territory 1836; admitted as a state 1848. originally applied to the Wisconsin River; a native name of unknown origin. Early spellings include Mescousing and Wishkonsing.
wisdom (n.): Old English wisdom, from wis (see wise (adj.)) + -dom. A common Germanic compound (cf. Old Saxon, Old Frisian wisdom, Old Norse visdomr, Old High German wistuom "wisdom," German Weistum "judicial sentence serving as a precedent"). Wisdom teeth so called from 1848 (earlier teeth of wisdom, 1660s), a loan-translation of Latin dentes sapientiae, itself a loan-translation of Greek sophronisteres (used by Hippocrates, from sophron "prudent, self-controlled"), so called because they usually appear ages 17-25, when a person reaches adulthood.
wise (adj.): Old English wis, from Proto-Germanic *wisaz (cf. Old Saxon, Old Frisian wis, Old Norse viss, Dutch wijs, German weise "wise"), from past participle adjective *wittos of PIE root *weid- "to see," hence "to know" (see vision). Slang meaning "aware, cunning" first attested 1896. Related to the source of Old English witan "to know, wit."
A wise man has no extensive knowledge; He who has extensive knowledge is not a wise man. [Lao-tzu, "Tao te Ching," c.550 B.C.E.]
Wise guy is attested from 1896, American English. Wisenheimer, with mock German or Yiddish surname suffix, first recorded 1904.
wise (n.): "way of proceeding, manner," Old English wise, ultimately from the same source as wise (adj.). Cf. Old Saxon wisa, Old Frisian wis, Danish vis, Middle Dutch wise, Dutch wijs, Old High German wisa, German Weise "way, manner." Most common in English now as a suffix (e.g. likewise). For sense evolution from "to see" to "way of proceeding," cf. cognate Greek eidos "form, shape, kind," also "course of action." Ground sense is "to see/know the way."
wiseacre (n.): 1590s, partial translation of Middle Dutch wijssegger "soothsayer" (with no derogatory connotation), probably altered by association with Middle Dutch segger "sayer" from Old High German wizzago "prophet," from wizzan "to know," from Proto-Germanic *wit- "to know" (see wit (v.)). The deprecatory sense of "one who pretends to know everything" may have come through confusion with obsolete English segger "sayer," which also had a sense of "braggart" (mid-15c.).
wisecrack (n.): 1924, from wise (adj.) + crack in the "boast" sense (see cracker).
wish (v.): Old English wyscan "to wish," from Proto-Germanic *wunskijanan (cf. Old Norse æskja, Danish ønske, Swedish önska, Middle Dutch wonscen, Dutch wensen, Old High German wunsken, German wunschen "to wish"), from PIE *wun-/*wen-/*won- "to strive after, wish, desire, be satisfied" (cf. Sanskrit vanati "he desires, loves, wins," Latin venus "love, sexual desire, loveliness," venerari "to worship;" see Venus). The noun is attested from c.1300. Wish fulfillment (1901) translates German wunscherfüllung (Freud, "Die Traumdeutung," 1900).
wishbone (n.): 1860, from wish + bone (n.); so called from the custom of making a wish while pulling the bone in two with another person. The wishbone breaking custom dates to the early 17c., when the bone was a merrythought.
wishful (adj.): 1520s, from wish (n.) + -ful. Related: Wishfully; wishfulness. Wishful thinking is recorded from 1932.
wishy-washy (adj.): 1690s, "feeble or poor in quality," reduplication of washy "thin, watery" (see wash (n.)). Meaning "vacillating" first recorded 1873.
wisp (n.): c.1300, "handful or bundle of hay, grass, etc.," used for burning or cleaning or as a cushion; perhaps from an unrecorded Old English word, cognate with Norwegian and Swedish visp "wisp," of unknown origin; sometimes said to be connected with whisk or with Middle Low German and Middle Dutch wispel "a measure of grain." Meaning "thin, filmy portion" first attested 1836.
wispy (adj.): 1717, from wisp + -y (2). Related: Wispiness.
wist (v.): "to know" (archaic), c.1500, from Old English past tense of witan "to know" (cf. German wusste, past tense of wissen "to know"); see wit. Had-I-wiste was used c.1400-1550 in sense "regret for something done rashly or heedlessly;" see wist. Proverbial in expression Had-I-wiste cometh ever too late.
Haddywyst comyth euer to late Whan lewyd woordis beth owte y-spronge. ["Commonplace book" in Trinity College, Cambridge, c.1500]
wisteria (n.): 1819, formed by Thomas Nuttall, English botanist, in recognition of American anatomist Caspar Wistar (1761-1818) of Philadelphia. The -e- apparently is a misprint.
wistful (adj.): 1610s, "closely attentive," from obsolete wist "intent" (c.1500), of uncertain origin. Perhaps formed on the model of wishful. The meaning of "yearningly eager" is first recorded 1714. Related: Wistfully; wistfulness.
wit (n.): "mental capacity," Old English wit, more commonly gewit, from Proto-Germanic *witjan (cf. Old Saxon wit, Old Norse vit, Danish vid, Swedish vett, Old Frisian wit, Old High German wizzi "knowledge, understanding, intelligence, mind," German Witz "wit, witticism, joke," Gothic unwiti "ignorance"), from PIE *woid-/*weid-/*wid- "to see," metaphorically "to know" (see vision). Related to Old English witan "to know" (source of wit (v.)). Meaning "ability to make clever remarks in an amusing way" is first recorded 1540s; that of "person of wit or learning" is from late 15c. For nuances of usage, see humor.
A witty saying proves nothing. [Voltaire, Diner du Comte de Boulainvilliers]