inkling English · revision 1326

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: /ˈɪŋklɪŋ/^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is apparently the verbal noun of Middle English ''inklen'' “to utter in an undertone, hint at”,^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline)^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU) which is of unknown origin^(Etymonline) and perhaps related to Old English ''inca'' “doubt, suspicion”.^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline)^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU) The earliest record, however, is ''a nyngkiling'',^(Etymonline) and the American Heritage Dictionary and the Middle English Compendium explain it instead as from ''nikking'' “a hint”, from ''nikken'' “to mark a text for correction”, from ''nik'' “notch”,^(AHD)^(Etymonline) with ''a ninkling'' later divided as ''an inkling'', as ''a napron'' became ''an apron''.^(AHD)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ A faint mention or rumour, chiefly in ''hear an inkling of'' (about 1400).^(OED 1989)^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ From a whispered mention, the word came to mean a hint given (1513)^(OED 1989)^(Barnhart 1995)^(MW Collegiate) and then a hint received, a slight or vague notion (1546).^(OED 1989) The second sense is now the commoner.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * mid-14th century – ''inklen'', to hint.^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1995)

+ * about 1400 – a faint mention or rumour.^(OED 1989)^(Etymonline)

+ * 1513 – a hint or intimation.^(OED 1989)^(Barnhart 1995)^(MW Collegiate)

+ * 1546 – a vague notion or suspicion.^(OED 1989)

+ * 1787 – dialect, an inclination.^(OED 1989)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Noun===

+ # A slight understanding or vague idea; a [[suspicion]].^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU)^(Wiktionary)

+ # A slight hint or indication.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU)^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}