Winsome

Pronunciation

• UK IPA: /ˈwɪn.sÊŒm/

Origin

From Middle English, from Old English wynsum ("winsome, pleasant, joyful, merry"), from Proto-Germanic *wunisamaz ("joyful"), from *wunjō ("joy, delight, desire"), from Proto-Indo-European *wun-, *wenǝ- ("to wish, love"), equivalent to winne + -some. Cognate with Scots winsome, wunsome ("charming, comely, pleasing"), Middle High German wunnesam ("winsome, joyful, delightful"), Old English wynn ("joy, rapture, pleasure, delight"), German Wonne ("bliss, delight, joy"). More at winne, winly.

Full definition of winsome

Adjective

1. Charming; inspiring trust and approval; especially if in an innocent manner.His bedside manner was especially winsome.
• 1922, James Joyce, Ulysses (novel) Chapter 13Gerty MacDowell who was seated near her companions, lost in thought, gazing far away into the distance was, in very truth, as fair a specimen of winsome Irish girlhood as one could wish to see.

Derived terms

• winsomeness
• winsomely

Related terms

• winne
• winly