windfall

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windfall

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)

Something that has been blown down by the wind.
(uncountable) The act of something being blown down by wind.
- 1911, United States. Forest Service, Bulletin (issues 94-103, page 15)
  The danger from windfall is greatest to trees developed in dense stands, which are tall and have slender stems, and increases with the age of the stand.
A fruit that has fallen from a tree naturally, as from wind.
They couldn't reach the branches, so they ate the windfalls.
(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, →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.
- 2025 May 21, Simon Stone, “Tottenham Hotspur 1-0 Manchester United”, in BBC Sport‎:
  In addition to following the lead of Newcastle and Crystal Palace in making this a season of glory for clubs who rarely, if ever, win a trophy, Tottenham are also set to benefit from a £100m windfall after qualifying for next season's Champions League.

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
Indonesian: pisang terkubak
Irish: amhantar m
Italian: cuccagna (it) f
Japanese: 僥倖 (ja) (ぎょうこう, gyōkō)
Macedonian: му падна секирата во мед (mu padna sekirata vo med, literally “His axe fell into the honey”)
Maori: kurapae
Norwegian: uventet hell
Ottoman Turkish: غنیمت (ganimet)
Polish: gratka f
Russian: неожи́данная уда́ча f (neožídannaja udáča)
Spanish: venturanza f
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)

Anagrams

fall wind