windfall
/ˈwɪnd.fɔːl/
noun
Origin
English
wind + fall — action of wind causing something to fall
Overview
Meaning Now
- Fruit that has been blown off a tree by the wind.
- A piece of unexpected good fortune or a sudden gain, typically one that involves receiving a large amount of money.
Literal older meaning
that which falls by the action of the wind
Language path
Old English → Middle English → English
Earliest form
wyndfall
Earliest period
15th century
Journey
The term originated in the agricultural context of English orchards. Laws and customs in medieval England often dictated who owned fruit that had blown onto the ground; specifically, fallen fruit was frequently considered a common-good resource or belonging to the person on whose land it fell, rather than the orchard owner, representing an unearned harvest.
Evolution
- Old English
wind + feallan
“wind (air current) + to fall”
Compound elements present in Old English, though not yet fused as a single noun.
- 15th century
wyndfall
“fruit fallen from a tree due to wind”
First appearance as a unified noun referring to agricultural produce.
- 17th century
windfall
“unexpected benefit or gain”
Figurative extension from the literal meaning of serendipitous harvest.
Connections
Word parts
wind
root
moving air
fall
root
to drop or descend
Related across languages
German
windfall (fruit)
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Related to windfall
External references use DefinedTerm semantics.