hint

Pronunciation

• IPA: /hɪnt/^[1]

Etymology

It is of obscure origin,^[2] probably an alteration of the obsolete hent, an act of seizing, a grasp,^[3][4][2] from Middle English hinten, to tell, inform (about 1400), earlier to catch, seize,^[5][6] inherited from Old English hentan (“to seize”),^[5][6] from Proto-Germanic *hantijan, source also of Gothic hinþan, to seize,^[6] and related to hunt.^[6]

Earliest recorded meaning

An occasion or opportunity, and a slight indication intended to be caught by the intelligent: both 1604, in Shakespeare's Othello.^[5][7][6]

Semantic evolution

The sense of an opportunity, as in it is my hint to speak, lasted into the early 19th century.^[4][7] A small piece of practical information is from 1777.^[6][7] The verb, to suggest indirectly, is from the 1640s,^[6][3] and the noun also means a barely perceptible amount, a trace.^[8][9]

Timeline

• 1604 – an opportunity; an indirect suggestion.^[7]
• 1640s – the verb.^[6]
• 1777 – a piece of practical advice.^[7]

Modern meaning

Noun

1. An indirect or slight suggestion: he dropped a hint.
2. A helpful piece of advice; a tip.
3. A clue.
4. A very small amount; a trace.
5. (obsolete) An occasion or opportunity.

Verb

1. To suggest or make known indirectly.

Word family

• hinter

Related words

• hent
• hunt
• intimation
• suggestion

Usage notes

In Scots dialect, hint was also used to mean to watch quietly, or to vanish quickly.^[10]

References

1. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b Hoad, T. F., ed. (1986), The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology, Oxford: Clarendon Press
3. ^ a b Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
4. ^ a b Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press
5. ^ a b c Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
6. ^ a b c d e f g h Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
7. ^ a b c d e Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press
8. ^ The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (1992), 3rd ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin
9. ^ Collins English Dictionary (2023), Glasgow: HarperCollins
10. ^ Wright, Joseph, ed. (1898–1905), The English Dialect Dictionary, 6 vols., Oxford: Henry Frowde; via EDD Online 4.0, University of Innsbruck (CC BY 4.0)