Windross

W4I1N1D2R1O1S1S1

proper noun

Microsoft Windows.

Scrabble 12

Meanings

Windross1

proper noun
  1. slangcomputingMicrosoft Windows.

    I copy the file to a plain Jane Lexar thumb drive, then move the drive to Windoze. Windross does it's^([sic]) usual popup game: "Yay! Look at me! I found something! Yay! It's a USB device! Yay! I'm setting it up now! Yay! Look at me!!"

    2012 November 17, Sinister Midget, “Windwoes Dimwittery”, in comp.os.linux.advocacy (Usenet)
    2 more examples

    Like Danny, I made the difficult decision to take a close look at Windross at Xmas96. The OS is a monster it's true; but IMHO it also brings alternative ways of achieving your objectives which are, as I have tried to show, not available in the Acorn environment. Recent threads on Acorn v Windross in schools don't seem to focus on this?

    1998 June 10, Martin Birchall, “Sad”, in comp.sys.acorn.misc (Usenet)

    The Windross user experience is awful. I migrated to the Mac, and while it's amazing to have inDesign, XPress, Photoshop, Acrobat, etc. right there, Mac OS 8/9's GUI was nothing on RISC OS and it's difficult to describe in any meaningful way Mac OS X's GUI is better than Windows - especially as the responsiveness remains poor.

    2003 January 4, David, “Comments about Windross OS”, in comp.sys.acorn.misc (Usenet)

Windross2

proper noun

Origin

Windross · proper noun

Blend of Windows + dross, suggesting an inferior product.

Full word history & related roots →

Windross · proper noun

A Yorkshire surname; unexplained. P. H. Reaney and R. M. Wilson (A Dictionary of British Surnames) suggest that it is from the late placename Windros Laithe (in Flasby, North Yorkshire), but this is unlikely as it appears to take its name from the surname. May be connected with Windridge, a surname probably from Windrush (in Gloucestershire), though George Redmonds (A Dictionary of Yorkshire Surnames) states that he can find no link between these surnames.

Full word history & related roots →
Cite this entry
APA

Windross. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Windross

MLA

“Windross.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Windross. Accessed November 2, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “Windross,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Windross.

Source: Windross on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.