winnow

the act of separating grain from chaff; "the winnowing was done by women"

separate the chaff from by using air currents; "She stood there winnowing chaff all day in the field"

blow on; "The wind was winnowing her hair"; "the wind winnowed the grass"

select desirable parts from a group or list; "cull out the interesting letters from the poet's correspondence"; "winnow the finalists from the long list of applicants"

blow away or off with a current of air; "winnow chaff"