vent-

1. A device that controls the flow of a gas or fluid through a pipe: A ventil can be a valve on a musical instrument, for example on a trumpet.

In organ-building, a ventil is a shutter in a wind-trunk which can admit wind in or cut off wind from two or more stops at once time.
2. An apparatus that allows fuel and air into the cylinder of an internal combustion engine, or one that makes it possible for combustion gases to exit.
3. In anatomy, one or more membranous partitions, flaps, or folds, which permit the passage of the contents of a vessel or cavity in one direction, but stop or retard the flow in the opposite direction: A ventil can also be described as the ileocolic (small intestine and large intestine valve), mitral (heart valve), of the semilunar (valves at the beginning of the artery of the heart).

1. Regarding the condition of being aerated or refreshed: Because the home had large windows, it was easily ventilable during the hot summer months.
2. Concerning the possibility of talking about feelings or ideas openly: After the funeral, the family and friends had ventilable thoughts, memories, and emotions that they needed to share with each other.

1. To supply a room, or other enclosed space, with fresh air or a current of air: Because the room hadn't been used in a long time, it needed to be ventilated in order to replace the stale air with fresh air from outside.
2. To provide an enclosed space with a vent or other means of letting fresh air in and stale air out: The room was furnished with an opening, or was ventilated, in order for the old air to escape from the stuffy room.
3. To expose something to moving fresh air in order to dry, cool, or preserve it: The clothes from the trunk with moth balls had to be ventilated a long time to get rid of the odor!
4. To oxygenate, or to aerate, the blood through the blood vessels of the lungs: Old Mrs. Smith had to be ventilated with a mechanical breathing device.
Etymology: "to blow away something" (as in the wind); from Latin ventilatus, past participle of ventilare, "to brandish, to toss in the air, to winnow, to fan, to agitate, to set in motion"; from ventulus, "a breeze" a diminutive of ventus, "wind".

1. The condition of supplying fresh air and getting rid of foul air: Ventilation of the bedroom was necessary before the children went to bed that night.
2. A mechanical system in a building that provides fresh air: The old system of ventilation needed to be replaced with a new one in the ancient dwelling.
3. The bodily process of inhalation and exhalation: Ventilation includes the process of taking in oxygen from inhaled air and releasing carbon dioxide by exhalation.
4. The replacement of stale or noxious air with fresh air: Ventilation is a process of moving or circulating air so as to supply outside air to an enclosed space and/or to remove stale air from the area with the purpose of cooling, purification, moisture reduction, etc., which may or may not involve mechanical conditioning.

Methane released to the atmosphere from the ventilation systems of underground coal mines: Because methane is a greenhouse gas, technologies have been developed to degasify the ventilation air methane by means of oxidation.

Regarding something that secures or provides fresh air: A ventilative apparatus can provide the lungs with air because it is made to supply a patient with new oxygen.

1. A machine that keeps air moving in and out of the lungs of a patient: A ventilator was used to enable Janet to breathe sufficiently because she could not breathe independent of it.
2. A device that circulates fresh air in an enclosed space: Not only did the ventilator provide fresh air in the room, but it also removed the stale or noxious air.
3. An apparatus used for ventilation: Carol used a fan as a ventilator and it produced an air flow and circulated air currents around the room so that she didn't feel so hot.

A device for displaying the velocity of the wind: A ventometer is tool for making micrometer adjustments to the sight of a rifle so as to make modifications in windage (horizontal adjustment that moves the barrel to adjust for left to right sighting) and elevation (vertical adjustment) by turning the ventometer to the adjustments necessary for greater accuracy when shooting at a target.

Concerning a condition of flatulence; windy: Bruce had stomach and intestinal difficulties which his doctor described as being ventose symptoms of an infection in his bowels.

1. To separate grain from its husks, or chaff: Sam winnowed the granular material by tossing it up in the air or blowing air and letting the wind blow the unwanted parts away.
2. To examine something in order to remove the bad, unusable, or undesirable parts; The workers winnowed the fruit in order to eliminate the decaying ones from the edible fruit
3. To examine closely in order to separate the good from the bad; to sift: The chairman winnowed the topics of discussion first before the conference began.
4. To remove (people or things that are less important, desirable, etc.) from a larger group or list: The least qualified applicants were winnowed out of the initial pool.
5. To make (a list of possible choices) smaller by removing the less desirable choices: The number of candidates has been winnowed, that means that it has been narrowed down or whittled down to seven.

This sense of winnow is often followed by "down": He needs to winnow down his options.

6. Etymology: Old English windwian, from wind, "air in motion, paring down". Cognate with Old Norse vinza, Old High German winton, "to fan, to winnow"; "to throw (grain) apart"; from Latin vannus, "winnowing fan".

The same concept describes Latin ventilare, "winnow", the source of ventilate in English which came from ventus, "wind".