windfall

English

Etymology

From Middle English windfal, wyndfall, equivalent to wind +‎ fall. Cognate with Middle High German wintval, wintfal, German Windfall.

Pronunciation

• (Received Pronunciation) enPR: wĭndʹfôl, IPA^(key): /ˈwɪnd.fɔːl/

  • Audio (UK)

    (file)

• (General American) enPR: wĭndʹfôl, IPA^(key): /ˈwɪnd.fɔl/
• (cot–caught merger) enPR: wĭndʹfäl, IPA^(key): /ˈwɪnd.fɑl/
• (General Australian) IPA^(key): /ˈwɪnd.fo(ː)l/

Noun

windfall (plural windfalls)

1. Something that has been blown down by the wind.
2. A fruit that has fallen from a tree naturally, as from wind.

   They couldn't reach the branches, so they ate the windfalls.

3. (figuratively) A sudden large benefit; especially, a sudden or unexpected large amount of money, as from lottery or sweepstakes winnings or an unexpected inheritance or gift.

   Synonyms: godsend, boon

   • 2004, Chris Wallace, Character: Profiles in Presidential Courage:

     Businessmen rushed to get every last commodity aboard a departing ship, hoping for a windfall once the world realized these would be the very last sacks of flour available, thus driving up prices.

   • 2023 October 19, Brendan I. Koerner, “Watch This Guy Work, and You’ll Finally Understand the TikTok Era”, in Wired‎^[1], →ISSN:

     One of six siblings who’d been raised by a single mother, the client had earned a windfall of around $400,000 after going viral in 2021.

Derived terms

• windfall profit
• windfall profits tax
• windfall shares
• windfall tax

 

Translations

something that has been blown down by the wind

• Bulgarian: ветрова́л m (vetrovál)
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: please add this translation if you can

• Finnish: tuulenkaato (fi)
• German: Windbruch (de) m
• Maori: tāiha
• Norwegian: vindfall n
• Polish: wiatrołom (pl) m
• Russian: па́данец (ru) m (pádanec), ветрова́л (ru) m (vetrovál) (of trees), вале́жник (ru) m (valéžnik) (of trees), бурело́м (ru) m (burelóm) (of trees)
• Tlingit: g̱éechadi

fruit fallen off a tree naturally

• Bulgarian: падалина f (padalina)
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: please add this translation if you can

• Finnish: pudokas (fi)
• German: Fallobst (de) n
• Hungarian: lehullott gyümölcs
• Irish: toradh leagtha m
• Norwegian: nedfallsfrukt (no) m
• Polish: spad (pl) m
• Russian: па́данец (ru) m (pádanec), опа́дыш (ru) m (opádyš) (colloquial), па́данка (ru) f (pádanka) (dialectal), па́далица (ru) f (pádalica) (collective)
• Spanish: fruta caída f
• Swedish: fallfrukt (sv)
• Volapük: falafluk, (collective) falaflukem
• Welsh: ffrwyth cwymp m

sudden large benefit

• Bulgarian: неочакван късмет (neočakvan kǎsmet)
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 意外之財／意外之财 (yìwài zhī cái), 暴利 (zh) (bàolì) (gained illegally or improperly)

• Finnish: jättipotti (fi)
• French: aubaine (fr) f
• German: warmer Regen m, Geldregen (de) m
• Greek:

  Ancient: ἕρμαιον n (hérmaion)

• Hungarian: talált pénz, váratlan/​rendkívüli/​nem várt/​nem tervezett/​ölébe pottyant szerencse/​ajándék/​segítség/​haszon/​nyeremény/​bevétel/​többlet
• Icelandic: hvalreki m
• Irish: amhantar m
• Italian: cuccagna (it) f
• Japanese: 僥倖 (ja) (ぎょうこう, gyōkō)
• Maori: kurapae
• Norwegian: uventet hell
• Polish: gratka f
• Russian: неожи́данная уда́ча f (neožídannaja udáča)
• Thai: ลาภลอย
• Turkish: devlet kuşu (tr), talih kuşu (tr)

The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.

Translations to be checked

• Norman: ^{(please verify)} tchêtinne f (Jersey)

See also

• serendipity
• windthrow

Anagrams

• fall wind