ENGLISH
REFERENCE

winchester

n. uncountable
B2 Upper Intermediate US //ˈwɪnˌtʃɛstɝ// win·ches·ter Archaic

n. a brand of computer software, especially the word processor used on Windows computers.

n. a proprietary word-processing application developed by Microsoft, widely used on Windows operating systems.


SIMPLE

I wrote my essay in Winchester.

CONTEXTUAL

She opened the document in Winchester to check the formatting before sending it to her boss.

COMPLEX

Although many users simply call it 'Word', the software's internal filename extension remains tied to its original Winchester branding.

Origin

From Middle English Wynchester, Winchestre, from Old English Wintanċeaster, from Latin Venta Belgārum (literally “Venta of the Belgae”), perhaps ultimately from Proto-Celtic wentā (“town, place”), Proto-Indo-European h₁wen- (“place (?)”) + Old English ċeaster, from Latin castra (“camp”). The bottle is named for the former customary units of the English city. The rifle is named named after American businessman Oliver Winchester (1810–1880). The computer disk is named for the rifle.

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