English Words: Their Origins and Historical Evolutions +

1. A thin layer of a material bonded to the surface of a less attractive or inferior material; such as, a coating consisting of a thin layer of superior wood glued to a base of inferior wood: "The cabinet was veneered in oak."
2. A thin layer of wood which is glued together with others to make plywood.
3. An outer layer applied to a surface for decoration or protection; for example, a facing of stone on a brick building.
4. A superficial appearance or show put on to please or to impress other people; a façade: "He was just putting on a veneer of friendliness."
5. Etymology: a thin layer of fine wood or other material to give an appearance of superior quality from about 1702, borrowed (with loss of r in the unstressed first syllable) from German Furnier, from furnieren, "to cover with a veneer, inlay," from French fournir, "to furnish".

The figurative sense of a merely outward show or appearance of some desirable quality is first recorded in English in 1868; "to cover with a veneer".

1. The condition of the atmosphere with regard to temperature, cloudiness, rainfall, wind, and other meteorological conditions.
2. The short-term state of the atmosphere, as distinguished from the long-term conditions of climate; this includes temperature, humidity, precipitation, wind, visibility, and other factors, chiefly considered in terms of their effects on organic life and human activity.
3. A specific localized atmospheric state at a given time; such as, rain or snow.
4. Adverse or destructive atmospheric conditions, such as high winds or heavy rain.
5. Etymology: from Middle English weder, wether; from Old English weder, "weather, storm, wind".

1. Charming, especially because of a naive, innocent quality.
2. Charming, often in a childlike or naive way; that is, having or showing an excessively simple and trusting view of the world and human nature, often as a result of being very young and inexperienced.

Etymological background

Winsome people easily "win" friends, so it is not surprising that "winsome" and "win" have a common root.

Their shared element win– comes from the Indo-European root wen–, meaning "to desire, to strive for" and has a number of descendants in the Germanic languages. One was the prehistoric Germanic noun wini–. meaning "friend" or literally, "someone who desires" or "loves" someone else; which became wine in Old English and is preserved in such names as Winfred, "friend of peace" and Edwin, "friend of (family) possessions".

A different form of the root with a different suffix became Old English wynn, "pleasure, joy"; preserved in winsome. Finally, the verb win itself is from this root; its meaning is an extension of the sense "to strive for"; namely, "to strive for with success, to be victorious".

Beyond the Germanic branch of Indo-European, there is another root, for example, in Latin venus or Venus, "love, the goddess of love", and the verb venerari, "to worship, to seek a deity's favor", the source of the English words venerate, veneration, venerable, etc.

1. Deep in sad thoughts; especially, thoughts of something yearned for or lost, or expressing this sad yearning.
2. Full of wishful yearning; pensively sad; melancholy.
3. Etymology: the meaning of "longing, yearning" existed in 1613-1616; formed from obsolete English wist(ly), "intently"; which was of uncertain origin before 1500.

The meaning of "expectantly" or "yearningly eager, longing", was first recorded in 1714.

1. To shrivel; to fade; to decay: "The grapes had withered on the vine."
2. To lose the freshness of youth, as from age: "At the age of 30, his youth had withered away.
3. To make flaccid, shrunken, or dry, as from loss of moisture; cause to lose freshness, bloom, vigor, etc.
4. To abash, as with a scathing glance: "She gave him a look that withered him."
5. Etymology: an alteration of Middle English wydderen, "dry up, shrivel" (c.1300), apparently a differentiated and special use of wederen, "to expose to weather".

There is an indication of a possible relationship with the German verwittern, "to become weather-beaten"; from Witter, "weather".

1. The ideas prevalent in a period and place, particularly as expressed in literature, philosophy, and religion.
2. The spirit of the time; the spirit characteristic of an age or generation.
3. The general intellectual, moral, and general cultural taste characteristic of an era.
4. Etymology: from German Zeitgeist; litterally, "spirit of the age"; from Zeit, "time" plus Geist, "spirit".