Etymograph

English

vinous

Vinous comes from Latin vīnōsus ‘fond of wine’, and perhaps goes back to Proto-Indo-European *weh₁y- ‘to twist’.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*weh₁y-1‘to twist’uncertain
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*wéyh₁ō2‘wine’reconstructed
  3. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*wīnom2‘wine’reconstructed
  4. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEvīnum3‘wine’
  5. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEvīnōsus3‘fond of wine’
  6. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500vinous3‘consisting of, containing, or made of wine’
  7. Englishearliest quotation 1768vinous3

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, Proto-Indo-European *wéyh₁ō
  2. 2 Wiktionary, Latin vinum
  3. 3 Wiktionary, English vinous
  4. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1768, Mr. Yorick pseudonym; Laurence Sterne, Preface in the Desobligeant: “The man who firſt tranſplanted the grape of Burgundy…”.

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*weh₁y-Wiktionary, Proto-Indo-European *wéyh₁ō‘to twist’uncertain
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*wéyh₁ōWiktionary, Latin vinum‘wine’reconstructed
  3. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*wīnomWiktionary, Latin vinum‘wine’reconstructed
  4. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEvīnumWiktionary, English vinous‘wine’
  5. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEvīnōsusWiktionary, English vinous‘fond of wine’
  6. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500vinousWiktionary, English vinous‘consisting of, containing, or made of wine’
  7. Englishearliest quotation 1768vinousWiktionary, English vinous. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1768, Mr. Yorick pseudonym; Laurence Sterne, Preface in the Desobligeant: “The man who firſt tranſplanted the grape of Burgundy…”

Linked words

through Proto-Indo-European *weh₁y- ‘to twist’

with, weak, wire, novel, iris, vise, vetch, 29 more

through Latin vīnum ‘wine’

wine, vinyl, vine, vignette, 18 more

Today it means

adj Pertaining to or having the characteristics of wine.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “vinous”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entries for Proto-Indo-European *wéyh₁ō, Latin vinum. By Wiktionary contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0, via kaikki.org (dump of Oct 3 2026); text adapted and restructured. Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word. License.

Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *weh₁y- / vinous

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