I. ˈ ̷ ̷ˌ ̷ ̷ noun
Etymology: Middle English windmulle, from wind (I) + mille, mulle mill
1.
a. : a mill operated by the wind usually acting on oblique vanes or sails which radiate from a horizontal shaft — compare smock mill
b. : any of various similar mechanisms:
(1) : a wind-driven water pump
(2) : a wind-driven electric generator
c. : the wind-driven wheel of a mill operated by the wind or of a similar mechanism
2. : something that resembles or suggests a windmill: as
a. : pinwheel 2a
b. slang : helicopter
c. : a prostrate annual plant ( Allionia incarnata ) of the Colorado and Mohave deserts that has viscid stems and white to rose flowers in groups of three
3.
a. obsolete : a fanciful scheme or plan
b.
[so called from the episode in Don Quixote by Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra died 1616 Spanish writer, in which the hero attacks windmills under the illusion that they are giants]
: an imaginary wrong, evil, or opponent — used especially in the phrase to tilt at windmills
II. transitive verb
: to cause to move like a windmill
windmilled his arms — John & Ward Hawkins
intransitive verb
: to move like a windmill
the other soldier hit him … they were windmilling into each other without doing any damage — Thomas Williams
specifically : to rotate from the force of the air when the engine is not operating
the propeller … will windmill and crank the engine — F.H.Colvin