pink

pink¹ little finger

Pronunciation

• /pɪŋk/^[3]

Forms

pink m (plural pinken, diminutive pinkje n)^[3]

Etymology

The word for the little finger is of unknown origin.^[2][3][4] It appears only in the 16th century, and Kiliaan (1599) gives it as a Holland word, with a by-form ⟨pinckoy⟩.^[2][1][5] The only cognate outside Dutch is West Frisian pink (also ⟨pinke⟩).^[2][1]

The EWN considers a link with pink² “yearling calf” and pink³ “fishing boat” through a general sense “something small”, which would fit the English dialect word pink (“something small”).^[2] De Vries suggests a derivation from pin, because of the finger's narrow shape.^[1][3] Franck and Van Wijk think it may have been a nursery word, or else related to Old English pinca (“point”), with an original sense “pointed object”.^[5][6][7] Kuhn (1961), as the EWN reports, explains it as a word from a substrate language that kept an unshifted /p/, and compares vinger.^[2][3]

Earliest recorded meaning

The first record, of 1567, glosses Tclein vingerken “the little finger” with pinck.^[2][8] The MNW notes that Middle Dutch did not yet use pink for the little finger, for which Flemish has pinkel.^[9] A West Flemish byname pinke of 1294 may be an early record of this word or of one of the other two, the VMNW says.^[10]

Semantic evolution

From the 17th century the finger served as a measure of thickness: a text of 1698 describes stirrups of pure gold “as thick as a pink”.^[4] Wearing a ring on the little finger was common enough for Winschoten (1681) to quote hij draagt de ring aan de pink “he wears the ring on his pink”.^[11][4] The word also names the part of a glove that covers the little finger, and the diminutive pinkje a sewing ring worn on it.^[4][12] In phrases it stands for something small one would give up: ik wou wel om een lid van myn pink, dat ik zo veel wist (1784), “I would give a joint of my little finger to know as much”.^[4]

The word spread to German dialects as Pink, and as pinche, pinge “penis” to French dialects.^[13] Its diminutive pinkje gave pinkie, first recorded in Scots in 1808.^[14][13]

Timeline

• 1567 – Pinck “little finger” is first recorded.^[2][8]
• 1599 – Kiliaan lists pinck and pinckoy as Holland words.^[2][5]
• 1681 – Winschoten records hij draagt de ring aan de pink.^[11][4]
• 1698 – The finger is used as a measure of thickness.^[4]
• 1808 – English pinkie, from the Dutch diminutive, is first recorded in Scots.^[14]

Meanings

Noun

1. The little finger, the fifth and smallest finger of the hand.^[15][12][3]
2. The part of a glove that covers the little finger.^[12][4]
3. A little bit, a small amount.^[12]

Word family

• pinkring

pink² yearling calf

Pronunciation

• /pɪŋk/^[3]

Forms

pink m (plural pinken, diminutive pinkje n)^[3]

Etymology

The word for the yearling calf is inherited from Middle Dutch pinke, of unknown origin.^[1][5][4][9] Kiliaan labels it a Holland and Frisian word.^[5][1] East Frisian and Westphalian have it in compounds for calfskins and calf leather, and the Frisian town laws speak of ⟨pinckefellen⟩ “pink hides”.^[5][1] Franck compared the English dialect word pink (“small”), and the EWN thinks the word may be connected with pink¹ “little finger” and pink³ “fishing boat” through a sense “something small”.^[9][2]

Earliest recorded meaning

The word is first found in the compound pynkenscoe “shoe of calf leather”, in a Brabant text of 1451 about who may make shoes of calf, pink or horse leather.^[9][7] The simple word is recorded from 1514.^[2][8]

Semantic evolution

The WNT defines a pink as a young bovine of about a year, of either sex; compounds such as pinkbul and pinkvaars name the sex, and the animal is also called hokkeling because calves of that age are kept in the stall.^[4] A text of 1612 counts ien pinck, ien Vaars, en ien Kalf “one pink, one heifer and one calf” as worth one or two cows.^[4]

From the animal the word passed to its hide: a list of 1518 sets a hundred pincke hides beside a hundred calfskins, and later pink named a kind of leather of lower quality.^[4] In the Waasland and parts of Brabant pink still means a heavy, thick leather for strong shoes, shortened from pinkleer.^[16][17] German dialects borrowed the word as Pink “half-year-old calf”, and Swedish once had pink for a kind of dressed calf hide.^[13]

Timeline

• 1451 – The compound pynkenscoe “shoe of calf leather” is recorded in Brabant.^[9]
• 1514 – Middle Dutch pinke “yearling calf” is recorded.^[2][8]
• 1518 – Pincke is used for the hides of yearlings.^[4]
• 1612 – Pinck, heifer and calf are named side by side.^[4]

Meanings

Noun

1. A yearling: a young bovine of about one year, no longer a calf.^[15][12][3]
2. (regional, Flanders) Heavy, thick leather for strong shoes.^[16][17]

pink³ fishing boat

Pronunciation

• /pɪŋk/^[3]

Forms

pink m (plural pinken, diminutive pinkje n)^[3]

Etymology

The word for the fishing boat is inherited from Middle Dutch pinke, of unknown origin.^[2][4][1][3] Middle Low German pinke (“a kind of ship”) is the same word, and Kiliaan also gives it a sense “pilot boat”, which he marks as Saxon.^[5][1][9] The Dutch and Low German word is recorded earlier than its Romance counterparts, and Franck–Van Wijk, De Vries and the WNT take French pinque, Italian pinco, Spanish pinco, German Pinke, Danish pink and the English word pink to come from it.^[5][1][4] The MNW left the direction of borrowing open.^[9]

The WNT finds a shortening of the Middle Dutch boat name espink unlikely, and no link with pink¹ “little finger” can be shown.^[4] Franck and Van Wijk call a shared basic sense “elongated object” a fantasy, while the EWN allows a common sense “something small”.^[5][2]

Earliest recorded meaning

Middle Dutch pinke “small seagoing ship, fishing boat” is first recorded in 1477–78.^[2][8] A Holland text of 1514 says of some men that they make their living at sea and have seven or eight pincken, large and small.^[9]

Semantic evolution

The WNT describes the pink as a fishing boat with a flat bottom, a mostly round bow, a narrower stern and one mast, known on the North Sea coast from the 15th century; pinks were built to be drawn up on the beach rather than kept in a harbour.^[4] A Scheveningen ordinance of 1531 forbids sea fishing in small boats and allows it only in such pyncken.^[4] The largest kind was the pink of Egmond, which Witsen (1671) measures at 35 feet over the stems.^[4] In the 17th century the name was also given to much larger three-masted cargo ships with a flat bottom, also called pinkschip.^[4] Winschoten (1681) explains the boat's name from the finger: the fishermen's open boat differs from larger ships as the little finger does from the others.^[11]

The word went into many languages of seafarers: English pink, German Pink, Danish pink, French pinque, Italian pinco, and further Czech, Polish, Croatian and Russian; in American English a pinkie or pinky is a small sailing boat with a pointed stern.^[13][1] Murray's dictionary, as the WNT reports, already has English pynkbot “pink boat” in 1471.^[4][1]

Timeline

• 1477–78 – Middle Dutch pinke “fishing boat” is first recorded.^[2][8]
• 1514 – Fishermen in Holland are said to own seven or eight pincken.^[9]
• 1531 – A Scheveningen ordinance allows sea fishing only in pinks.^[4]
• 1671 – Witsen gives the measurements of the Egmond pink.^[4]
• 1681 – Winschoten compares the boat to the little finger.^[11]

Meanings

Noun

1. (historical) A pink: a flat-bottomed fishing boat with a round, broad bow and one mast, drawn up on the beach.^{[15][12][4][3]}
2. (historical) A larger three-masted cargo ship with a flat bottom.^[4]

Word family

• visserspink