gwine

English

Alternative forms

gine, gwyne

Etymology

Phonetic rendition of going; compare Gullah gwine.

This particular form apparently results from the vocalic sequence in going (Early Modern English /ˈɡoː.ɪŋ/, /ˈɡoː.ɪn/) coalescing into a diphthong that was identified with reflexes of Middle English /ui̯/, which developed into /waɪ/ in some dialects; compare English traditional dialect pronunciations of point and toil as /ˈpwaɪnt/, /ˈtwaɪl/ (see twile). In other dialects, Middle English /ui̯/ instead developed into /aɪ/, resulting in the form gine; compare bile (“boil”), heist, rile.

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /ˈɡwaɪn/, (uncommon) /ˈɡaɪn/
(African-American Vernacular) IPA^(key): /ˈwaɪn/ (compare 'onna)

Verb

gwine

(archaic, especially African-American Vernacular) present participle of go
- 1852, Harriet Beecher Stowe, chapter 21, in Uncle Tom's Cabin:
  Well, I want spectin nothin; only Sam, he's a gwine to de river with some colts, and he said I could go long with him; so I jes put my things together.
- 1921, Emilie Benson Knipe, Alden Arthur Knipe, Diantha's Quest, New York: The Macmillan company, page 78:
  “Come on, you Snowflake,” he called, cracking his long whip. “You're gwine to get your sugar, but you-all is gwine to earn it first.”

Usage notes

Though this word is especially associated with traditional African-American Vernacular English, it was also found in the speech of white US Southerners, New Englanders and speakers of the traditional dialects of Southern England.

Descendants

Gullah: gwine

Anagrams

Ewing, Ngwei, Winge, winge

Gullah

Etymology

Inherited from dialectal early Modern English gwine.

Verb

gwine

present participle of go
- 2017 August 10, “The World of Gullah”, in Fodor's Travel‎^[1] (travel guide; overall work in English), El Segundo, California: Fodor's Travel, archived from the original on 4 February 2022:
  If oonuh ent kno weh oonuh dah gwine, oonuh should kno weh oonuh come f'um
  If you don't know where you're going, you should know where you've come from.
going to