hint
English
Etymology
From Middle English hinten, hynten, variant of henten (“to lay hold of, catch”), from Old English hentan (“to seize, grasp”), from Proto-West Germanic *hantijan, from Proto-Germanic *hantijaną. Doublet of hent. Related also to hunt.
Pronunciation
Noun
hint (plural hints)
- A clue.
- I needed a hint to complete the crossword.
- An implicit suggestion that avoids a direct statement.
- He gave me a hint that my breath smelt.
- A small, barely detectable amount.
- There was a hint of irony in his voice.
- I could taste a hint of lemon in my iced water.
- 1850, [Alfred, Lord Tennyson], In Memoriam, London: Edward Moxon, […], →OCLC, Canto XIV, page 23:
- And I perceived no touch of change,
No hint of death in all his frame,
But found him all in all the same, […]
- 1921, Ben Travers, chapter 2, in A Cuckoo in the Nest, Garden City, N.Y.: Doubleday, Page & Company, published 1925, →OCLC:
- Mother very rightly resented the slightest hint of condescension. She considered that the exclusiveness of Peter's circle was due not to its distinction, but to the fact that it was an inner Babylon of prodigality and whoredom, […] .
- (computing) Information in a computer-based font that suggests how the outlines of the font's glyphs should be distorted in order to produce, at specific sizes, a visually appealing pixel-based rendering; an instance of hinting.
- This font does not scale well to small sizes; the hints for the 10-point letter 'g' still need work.
- (databases) An instruction to the database engine as to how a query should be executed, for example whether to use an index or not.
- (obsolete) An opportunity; occasion; fit time.
- 1610–1611 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Tempest”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act I, scene ii]:
- I, not remembering how I cried out then, / Will cry it o'er again: it is a hint / That wrings mine eyes to't.
Synonyms
- (small amount): see also Thesaurus:modicum.
Derived terms
Descendants
Translations
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- The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.
Verb
hint (third-person singular simple present hints, present participle hinting, simple past and past participle hinted)
- (intransitive) To imply without a direct statement; to provide a clue.
- She hinted at the possibility of a recount of the votes.
- 1913, Robert Barr, chapter 4, in Lord Stranleigh Abroad:
- I have tried, as I hinted, to enlist the co-operation of other capitalists, but experience has taught me that any appeal is futile that does not impinge directly upon cupidity.
- (transitive) To bring to mind by a slight mention or remote allusion; to suggest in an indirect manner.
- to hint a suspicion
- 1735 January 13 (Gregorian calendar; indicated as 1734), [Alexander] Pope, An Epistle from Mr. Pope, to Dr. Arbuthnot, London: […] J[ohn] Wright for Lawton Gilliver […], →OCLC, page 11, lines 198–199:
- VVilling to vvound, and yet afraid to ſtrike, / Juſt hint a fault and heſitate diſlike; […]
- 1749, Henry Fielding, The History of Tom Jones, a Foundling, volumes (please specify |volume=I to VI), London: A[ndrew] Millar, […], →OCLC:
- We shall not describe this tragical scene too fully; but we thought ourselves obliged, by that historic integrity which we profess, shortly to hint a matter which we would otherwise have been glad to have spared.
- (transitive) To develop and add hints to a font.
- The typographer worked all day on hinting her new font so it would look good on computer screens.
Synonyms
- See also Thesaurus:allude
Translations
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Interjection
hint
- (often reduplicated) Signifies that something previously said should be taken as a hint or heeded closely.
- And yes, as long as you are being a good coder and engaging in safe practices, nothing should go wrong. (Hint, hint.)
Anagrams
Danish
Etymology 1
Pronunciation
Noun
hint n (singular definite hintet, plural indefinite hint or hints)
Etymology 2
See the etymology of the corresponding lemma form.
Pronunciation
Pronoun
hint
Dutch
Etymology
Pronunciation
Audio: (file)
Noun
hint f or m (plural hints, diminutive hintje n)
Synonyms
See also
Verb
hint
- inflection of hinten:
Hungarian
Etymology
From an unattested stem of unknown origin + -t (causative suffix).[1][2] The stem was probably him-, related to obsolete himlik and thus himlő. It may have had at least a variant with velar /ɯ/, giving rise to the forms hinta and hintó, as reflected by their back-vowel suffixes.[3]
Pronunciation
Verb
hint
- (transitive) to scatter, sprinkle (to cause a substance to fall in fine drops (for a liquid substance) or small pieces (for a solid substance))
Conjugation
Click for archaic forms | 1st person sg | 2nd person sg informal |
3rd person sg, 2nd p. sg formal |
1st person pl | 2nd person pl informal |
3rd person pl, 2nd p. pl formal | |||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Indicative mood |
Present | Indef. | hintek | hintesz | hint | hintünk | hintetek | hintenek | |
Def. | hintem | hinted | hinti | hintjük | hintitek | hintik | |||
2nd-p. o. | hintelek | ― | |||||||
Past | Indef. | hintettem | hintettél | hintett | hintettünk | hintettetek | hintettek | ||
Def. | hintettem | hintetted | hintette | hintettük | hintettétek | hintették | |||
2nd-p. o. | hintettelek | ― | |||||||
Future | Future is expressed with a present-tense verb with a completion-marking prefix and/or a time adverb, or—more explicitly—with the infinitive plus the conjugated auxiliary verb fog, e.g. hinteni fog. | ||||||||
Archaic Preterit |
Indef. | hinték | hintél | hinte | hinténk | hintétek | hintének | ||
Def. | hintém | hintéd | hinté | hinténk | hintétek | hinték | |||
2nd-p. o. | hintélek | ― | |||||||
Archaic Past | Two additional past tenses: the present and the (current) past forms followed by vala (volt), e.g. hint vala, hintett vala/volt. | ||||||||
Archaic Future |
Indef. | hintendek | hintendesz | hintend | hintendünk | hintendetek | hintendenek | ||
Def. | hintendem | hintended | hintendi | hintendjük | hintenditek | hintendik | |||
2nd-p. o. | hintendelek | ― | |||||||
Conditional mood |
Present | Indef. | hintenék | hintenél | hintene | hintenénk | hintenétek | hintenének | |
Def. | hinteném | hintenéd | hintené | hintenénk (or hintenők) |
hintenétek | hintenék | |||
2nd-p. o. | hintenélek | ― | |||||||
Past | Indicative past forms followed by volna, e.g. hintett volna | ||||||||
Subjunctive mood |
Present | Indef. | hintsek | hints or hintsél |
hintsen | hintsünk | hintsetek | hintsenek | |
Def. | hintsem | hintsd or hintsed |
hintse | hintsük | hintsétek | hintsék | |||
2nd-p. o. | hintselek | ― | |||||||
(Archaic) Past | Indicative past forms followed by légyen, e.g. hintett légyen | ||||||||
Infinitive | hinteni | hintenem | hintened | hintenie | hintenünk | hintenetek | hinteniük | ||
Other forms |
Verbal noun | Present part. | Past part. | Future part. | Adverbial participle | Causative | |||
hintés | hintő | hintett | hintendő | hintve (hintvén) | |||||
The archaic passive conjugation had the same -(t)at/-(t)et suffix as the causative, followed by -ik in the 3rd-person singular (and the concomitant changes in conditional and subjunctive mostly in the 1st- and 3rd-person singular like with other traditional -ik verbs). | |||||||||
Click for archaic forms | 1st person sg | 2nd person sg informal |
3rd person sg, 2nd p. sg formal |
1st person pl | 2nd person pl informal |
3rd person pl, 2nd p. pl formal | |||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Indicative mood |
Present | Indef. | hinthetek | hinthetsz | hinthet | hinthetünk | hinthettek | hinthetnek | |
Def. | hinthetem | hintheted | hintheti | hinthetjük | hinthetitek | hinthetik | |||
2nd-p. o. | hinthetlek | ― | |||||||
Past | Indef. | hinthettem | hinthettél | hinthetett | hinthettünk | hinthettetek | hinthettek | ||
Def. | hinthettem | hinthetted | hinthette | hinthettük | hinthettétek | hinthették | |||
2nd-p. o. | hinthettelek | ― | |||||||
Archaic Preterit |
Indef. | hintheték | hinthetél | hinthete | hintheténk | hinthetétek | hinthetének | ||
Def. | hinthetém | hinthetéd | hintheté | hintheténk | hinthetétek | hintheték | |||
2nd-p. o. | hinthetélek | ― | |||||||
Archaic Past | Two additional past tenses: the present and the (current) past forms followed by vala, e.g. hinthet vala, hinthetett vala/volt. | ||||||||
Archaic Future |
Indef. | hinthetendek or hintandhatok |
hinthetendesz or hintandhatsz |
hinthetend or hintandhat |
hinthetendünk or hintandhatunk |
hinthetendetek or hintandhattok |
hinthetendenek or hintandhatnak | ||
Def. | hinthetendem or hintandhatom |
hinthetended or hintandhatod |
hinthetendi or hintandhatja |
hinthetendjük or hintandhatjuk |
hinthetenditek or hintandhatjátok |
hinthetendik or hintandhatják | |||
2nd-p. o. | hinthetendelek or hintandhatlak |
― | |||||||
Conditional mood |
Present | Indef. | hinthetnék | hinthetnél | hinthetne | hinthetnénk | hinthetnétek | hinthetnének | |
Def. | hinthetném | hinthetnéd | hinthetné | hinthetnénk (or hinthetnők) |
hinthetnétek | hinthetnék | |||
2nd-p. o. | hinthetnélek | ― | |||||||
Past | Indicative past forms followed by volna, e.g. hinthetett volna | ||||||||
Subjunctive mood |
Present | Indef. | hinthessek | hinthess or hinthessél |
hinthessen | hinthessünk | hinthessetek | hinthessenek | |
Def. | hinthessem | hinthesd or hinthessed |
hinthesse | hinthessük | hinthessétek | hinthessék | |||
2nd-p. o. | hinthesselek | ― | |||||||
(Archaic) Past | Indicative past forms followed by légyen, e.g. hinthetett légyen | ||||||||
Inf. | (hinthetni) | (hinthetnem) | (hinthetned) | (hinthetnie) | (hinthetnünk) | (hinthetnetek) | (hinthetniük) | ||
Positive adjective | hinthető | Neg. adj. | hinthetetlen | Adv. part. | (hinthetve / hinthetvén) | ||||
Derived terms
(With verbal prefixes):
References
- ^ hint in Zaicz, Gábor (ed.). Etimológiai szótár: Magyar szavak és toldalékok eredete (‘Dictionary of Etymology: The origin of Hungarian words and affixes’). Budapest: Tinta Könyvkiadó, 2006, →ISBN. (See also its 2nd edition.)
- ^ hint in Tótfalusi, István. Magyar etimológiai nagyszótár (’Hungarian Comprehensive Dictionary of Etymology’). Budapest: Arcanum Adatbázis, 2001; Arcanum DVD Könyvtár →ISBN
- ^ hint in Károly Gerstner, editor, Új magyar etimológiai szótár [New Etymological Dictionary of Hungarian] (ÚESz.), Online edition (beta version), Budapest: MTA Research Institute for Linguistics / Hungarian Research Centre for Linguistics, 2011–2024.
Further reading
- hint in Bárczi, Géza and László Országh. A magyar nyelv értelmező szótára (‘The Explanatory Dictionary of the Hungarian Language’, abbr.: ÉrtSz.). Budapest: Akadémiai Kiadó, 1959–1962. Fifth ed., 1992: →ISBN
Norwegian Bokmål
Etymology
Noun
hint n (definite singular hintet, indefinite plural hint, definite plural hinta or hintene)
- a hint
References
Norwegian Nynorsk
Etymology
Noun
hint n (definite singular hintet, indefinite plural hint, definite plural hinta)
- a hint
References
- “hint” in The Nynorsk Dictionary.
Yola
Etymology
From Middle English hunten, from Old English huntian.
Pronunciation
Verb
hint
- to hunt
- 1867, “CASTEALE CUDDE'S LAMENTATION”, in SONGS, ETC. IN THE DIALECT OF FORTH AND BARGY, number 6, page 104:
- To hint dhicka cursed vox vrom Bloomere's lhoan.
- To hunt that cursed fox from Bloomer's land.
References
- Jacob Poole (d. 1827) (before 1828) William Barnes, editor, A Glossary, With some Pieces of Verse, of the old Dialect of the English Colony in the Baronies of Forth and Bargy, County of Wexford, Ireland, London: J. Russell Smith, published 1867, page 46
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- Rhymes:English/ɪnt
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- en:Computing
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