means To achieve victory, success, or a prize in a contest, effort, or struggle.

from From Old English 'winnan,' which originally meant to labor, strive, struggle, or even fight — winning was something you earned through toil, not luck. It's related to Old Norse 'vinna' (to work, to gain) and German 'gewinnen' (to win, to gain). The deeper Germanic root carries the sense of striving toward, and some link it to a Proto-Indo-European root meaning 'to desire' — a cousin, possibly, of Latin 'venus' (love, longing). So the sweat in the essence is no accident: 'win' was forged in effort long before it ever meant a trophy.