An Etymological Dictionary of the German Language/winseln

by Friedrich Kluge

winseln, vb., ‘to whine, whimper,’ from the equiv. MidHG. winseln, an intensive of MidHG. winsen, OHG. winsôn, winisôn, wk. vb., ‘to lament.’ Probably derived, like wimmern (wiehern), from the Teut. root hwī̆. Its connection with weinen is less probable.