What is "to take the wind"

Wind \Wind\ (w[i^]nd, in poetry and singing often w[imac]nd; 277), n. [AS. wind; akin to OS., OFries., D., & G. wind, OHG. wint, Dan. & Sw. vind, Icel. vindr, Goth winds, W. gwynt, L. ventus, Skr. v[=a]ta (cf. Gr. 'ah`ths a blast, gale, 'ah^nai to breathe hard, to blow, as the wind); originally a p. pr. from the verb seen in Skr. v[=a] to blow, akin to AS. w[=a]wan, D. waaijen, G. wehen, OHG. w[=a]en, w[=a]jen, Goth. waian. [root]13

1. Cf. Air, Ventail, Ventilate, Window, Winnow.] 1. Air naturally in motion with any degree of velocity; a current of air.

   Except wind stands as never it stood, It is an ill wind that turns none to good.
   --Tusser.

   Winds were soft, and woods were green.
   --Longfellow.

2. Air artificially put in motion by any force or action; as, the wind of a cannon ball; the wind of a bellows.

3. Breath modulated by the respiratory and vocal organs, or by an instrument.

   Their instruments were various in their kind, Some for the bow, and some for breathing wind.
   --Dryden.

4. Power of respiration; breath.

   If my wind were but long enough to say my prayers, I would repent.
   --Shak.

5. Air or gas generated in the stomach or bowels; flatulence; as, to be troubled with wind.

6. Air impregnated with an odor or scent.

   A pack of dogfish had him in the wind.
   --Swift.

7. A direction from which the wind may blow; a point of the compass; especially, one of the cardinal points, which are often called the four winds.

   Come from the four winds, O breath, and breathe upon these slain.
   --Ezek. xxxvii. 9.

   Note: This sense seems to have had its origin in the East. The Hebrews gave to each of the four cardinal points the name of wind.

8. (Far.) A disease of sheep, in which the intestines are distended with air, or rather affected with a violent inflammation. It occurs immediately after shearing.

9. Mere breath or talk; empty effort; idle words.

   Nor think thou with wind Of airy threats to awe.
   --Milton.

10. (Zo["o]l.) The dotterel. [Prov. Eng.]

11. (Boxing) The region of the pit of the stomach, where a blow may paralyze the diaphragm and cause temporary loss of breath or other injury; the mark. [Slang or Cant] Note: Wind is often used adjectively, or as the first part of compound words. All in the wind. (Naut.) See under All, n. Before the wind. (Naut.) See under Before. Between wind and water (Naut.), in that part of a ship's side or bottom which is frequently brought above water by the rolling of the ship, or fluctuation of the water's surface. Hence, colloquially, (as an injury to that part of a vessel, in an engagement, is particularly dangerous) the vulnerable part or point of anything. Cardinal winds. See under Cardinal, a. Down the wind.

    1. In the direction of, and moving with, the wind; as, birds fly swiftly down the wind.

    2. Decaying; declining; in a state of decay. [Obs.] ``He went down the wind still.'' --L'Estrange. In the wind's eye (Naut.), directly toward the point from which the wind blows. Three sheets in the wind, unsteady from drink. [Sailors' Slang] To be in the wind, to be suggested or expected; to be a matter of suspicion or surmise. [Colloq.] To carry the wind (Man.), to toss the nose as high as the ears, as a horse. To raise the wind, to procure money. [Colloq.] To take the wind or To have the wind, to gain or have the advantage. --Bacon. To take the wind out of one's sails, to cause one to stop, or lose way, as when a vessel intercepts the wind of another; to cause one to lose enthusiasm, or momentum in an activity. [Colloq.] To take wind, or To get wind, to be divulged; to become public; as, the story got wind, or took wind. Wind band (Mus.), a band of wind instruments; a military band; the wind instruments of an orchestra. Wind chest (Mus.), a chest or reservoir of wind in an organ. Wind dropsy. (Med.)

       1. Tympanites.

       2. Emphysema of the subcutaneous areolar tissue. Wind egg, an imperfect, unimpregnated, or addled egg. Wind furnace. See the Note under Furnace. Wind gauge. See under Gauge. Wind gun. Same as Air gun. Wind hatch (Mining), the opening or place where the ore is taken out of the earth. Wind instrument (Mus.), an instrument of music sounded by means of wind, especially by means of the breath, as a flute, a clarinet, etc. Wind pump, a pump moved by a windmill. Wind rose, a table of the points of the compass, giving the states of the barometer, etc., connected with winds from the different directions. Wind sail.

          1. (Naut.) A wide tube or funnel of canvas, used to convey a stream of air for ventilation into the lower compartments of a vessel.

          2. The sail or vane of a windmill.

             Wind shake, a crack or incoherence in timber produced by violent winds while the timber was growing.

             Wind shock, a wind shake.

             Wind side, the side next the wind; the windward side. [R.]
             --Mrs. Browning.

             Wind rush (Zo["o]l.), the redwing. [Prov. Eng.]

             Wind wheel, a motor consisting of a wheel moved by wind.

             Wood wind (Mus.), the flutes and reed instruments of an orchestra, collectively.