mid-14c., agent noun from win (v.). Adjectival winner-take-all attested from 1901.
Entries linking to winner
win v.
"be victorious," c. 1300 fusion of Old English winnan "to labor, toil, struggle for, work at, strive, fight," and gewinnan "to gain or succeed by struggling, conquer, obtain," both from Proto-Germanic *wennanan "to seek to gain" (source also of Old Saxon winnan, Old Norse vinna, Old Frisian winna, Dutch winnen "to gain, win," Danish vinde "to win," Old High German winnan "to strive, struggle, fight," German gewinnen "to gain, win," Gothic gawinnen "to suffer, toil"), from PIE root *wen- (1) "to desire, strive for."
Related: Won; winning. Meaning "gain the affection or esteem of" is from c. 1600. Breadwinner preserves the sense of "toil" in Old English winnan. Phrase you can't win them all (1954) first attested in Raymond Chandler. Winningest is attested by 1804.
breadwinner n.
also bread-winner, "one who supplies a living for himself and others," especially a family, 1821, from the noun bread (probably in a literal sense) + winner, from win (v.) in its sense of "struggle for, work at." Attested slightly earlier (1818) in the sense of "skill or art by which one makes a living." Not too far removed from the image at the root of lord (n.).