whin

Meaning

Noun

• Gorse; furze (Ulex spp.).
• The plant woad-waxen (Genista tinctoria).
• Whinstone.

Origin

• From Middle English whynne, from Old Norse hvein (compare Norwegian kvein, Swedish ven, dialectal hven), apparently from hvein, from Proto-Germanic *hwainō, *hwin-, from Proto-Indo-European *ḱʷeyn-. Compare Latin caenum, Latin inquīnō.