windfall
Appearance
English
[edit]Etymology
[edit]From Middle English windfal, wyndfall, equivalent to wind + fall. Cognate with Middle High German wintval, wintfal, German Windfall.
Pronunciation
[edit]- (Received Pronunciation) enPR: wĭndʹfôl, IPA(key): /ˈwɪnd.fɔːl/
- (General American) enPR: wĭndʹfôl, IPA(key): /ˈwɪnd.fɔl/
- (cot–caught merger) enPR: wĭndʹfäl, IPA(key): /ˈwɪnd.fɑl/
- (General Australian) IPA(key): /ˈwɪnd.fo(ː)l/
Noun
[edit]windfall (plural windfalls)
- Something that has been blown down by the wind.
- A fruit that has fallen from a tree naturally, as from wind.
- They couldn't reach the branches, so they ate the windfalls.
- (figuratively) A sudden large benefit; especially, a sudden or unexpected large amount of money, as from lottery or sweepstakes winnings or an unexpected inheritance or gift.
- 2004, Chris Wallace, Character: Profiles in Presidential Courage:
- Businessmen rushed to get every last commodity aboard a departing ship, hoping for a windfall once the world realized these would be the very last sacks of flour available, thus driving up prices.
Derived terms
[edit]Translations
[edit]something that has been blown down by the wind
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fruit fallen off a tree naturally
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sudden large benefit
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- The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.
See also
[edit]Anagrams
[edit]Categories:
- English terms inherited from Middle English
- English terms derived from Middle English
- English compound terms
- English 2-syllable words
- English terms with IPA pronunciation
- English terms with audio pronunciation
- English lemmas
- English nouns
- English countable nouns
- English terms with usage examples
- English terms with quotations
- en:Wind