Since the mid-1980s, when Indonesia first began to clear its bountiful forests on an industrial scale in favour of lucrative palm-oil plantations, “haze” has become an almost annual occurrence in South-East Asia. The cheapest way to clear logged woodland is to burn it, producing an acrid cloud of foul white smoke that, carried by thewind, can cover hundreds, or even thousands, of square miles.
Air artificially put in motion by any force or action.
2023 July 24, Jason Horowitz, “What the Collapse of Spain’s Far Right Means Going Forward”, inThe New York Times[1],→ISSN:
But many of those issues failed to draw Spanish voters, or even scared them, and the country’s election results went contrary to Europe’s politicalwinds.
When this conversation was repeated in detail within the hearing of the young woman in question, and undoubtedly for his benefit, Mr. Trevor threw shame to thewinds and scandalized the Misses Brewster then and there by proclaiming his father to have been a country storekeeper.
Types of playing-tile in the game of mah-jongg, named after the four winds.
(figurative) Mere breath or talk; empty effort; idle words.
1667,John Milton, “Book VI”, inParadise Lost.[…], London:[…] [Samuel Simmons], and are to be sold by Peter Parker[…];[a]nd by Robert Boulter[…];[a]nd Matthias Walker,[…],→OCLC; republished asParadise Lost in Ten Books:[…], London: Basil Montagu Pickering[…],1873,→OCLC:
Nor think thou withwind / Of airy threats to awe.
1946, George Orwell,Politics and the English Language:
Political language is designed to make lies sound truthful and murder respectable, and to give an appearance of solidity to purewind.
Something higher must lie at the back of that eager response to pack-music andwinded horn — something born of the smell of the good earth
1951, C. S. Lewis,Prince Caspian: The Return to Narnia:
"If your Majesty is ever to use the Horn," said Trufflehunter, "I think the time has now come." Caspian had of course told them of this treasure several days ago./[…]/"Then in the name of Aslan we willwind Queen Susan's Horn," said Caspian.
The form “wound” in the past is occasionally found in reference to blowing a horn, but is often considered to be erroneous. The October 1875 issue ofThe Galaxydisparaged this usage as a “very ridiculous mistake” arising from a misunderstanding of the word's meaning.
A similarsolecism occurs in the use (in this sense) of the pronunciation/waɪnd/, sometimes heard in singing and oral reading of verse, e.g.,The huntsman/waɪndz/ his horn.
A British canal is very often too narrow for a full-length boat to turn around. To allow changes of direction, recesses are dug into one of the banks every few miles. They are used by nosing the boat into the recess, and then pulling thestern around until thebow can be pulled out with the boat facing the opposite direction. For a motorised boat, the stern is moved around by using engine power with therudderhard over; however, for horse-drawn boats (the vast majority of boats for the first 160 years), the crew wouldpole the stern around. It is irrelevant whether or not the wind then strikes the boat on the opposite side. However, the poling is analogous to what would often be required to allow a sailing boat setting off from amooring to catch the wind on the most advantageous side for a safe departure. Although there are other theories, this is probably the reason the recesses are calledwinding holes.
1667,John Milton, “Book IX”, inParadise Lost.[…], London:[…] [Samuel Simmons], and are to be sold by Peter Parker[…];[a]nd by Robert Boulter[…];[a]nd Matthias Walker,[…],→OCLC; republished asParadise Lost in Ten Books:[…], London: Basil Montagu Pickering[…],1873,→OCLC:
Whether towind / The woodbine round this arbour.
1906,Stanley J[ohn] Weyman, chapter I, inChippinge Borough, New York, N.Y.: McClure, Phillips & Co.,→OCLC:
It was April 22, 1831, and a young man was walking down Whitehall in the direction of Parliament Street. He wore shepherd's plaid trousers and the swallow-tail coat of the day, with a figured muslin cravatwound about his wide-spread collar.
Judge Short had gone to town, and Farrar was off for a three days' cruise up the lake. I was bitterly regretting I had not gone with him when the distant notes of a coach horn reached my ear, and I descried a four-in-handwinding its way up the inn road from the direction of Mohair.
^Rex Wailes (1954)The English Windmill, page104: “[…]if a windmill is to work as effectively as possible its sails must always face the wind squarely; to effect this some means of turning them into the wind, or winding the mill, must be used.”
I am busy with fire, sway withwind, wrapped with worship, gathered in good weather, ready to go forward, melted by fire, a blooming grove, a burning ember.
