Nota: A tradução desta entrada está atualmente em revisão de qualidade, portanto parte do conteúdo é exibida temporariamente apenas em inglês.
Este verbete ainda não foi traduzido para o seu idioma, portanto o original é exibido abaixo.
winnowing
This term originates from the agricultural practice of separating grain from chaff, carrying a strong connotation of purification and refinement. When used in a non-agricultural sense, it describes a selective process where the inferior or unnecessary is discarded to leave only the highest quality elements. It implies a rigorous, often systematic reduction of a larger group.
In professional or academic contexts, the word suggests a high standard of scrutiny. While synonyms like filtering or screening are more common in technical settings, winnowing evokes a more deliberate and thorough elimination process, often used when the goal is to identify a small, elite group from a vast number of applicants or ideas.
Meanings
Examples
The ancient villagers practiced winnowing by tossing the grain into the wind.
The first round of auditions was a brutal winnowing of the talent pool.
We need a winnowing mechanism to filter out the spam emails.
I wonder if this winnowing of my social circle is actually a good thing.
The company is undergoing a winnowing process to reduce overhead costs.
The wind was perfect for winnowing the barley today.
It is a slow winnowing of options until only one remains.
The professor used a winnowing technique to identify the most relevant sources.