*SET-U

English word origin

Etymology of -in

Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *-nós Proto-Indo-European *-iHnos Proto-Italic *-īnos Latin -īnusder. Old French -inbor. Middle English -in English -ineclip. English -in Clipping of -ine.

3 source sectionsExtended source reportWiktionary original ↗
In this entry · 3 source sections

The source etymologies

Wiktionary via Kaikki / Wiktextract

The source reports below are imported and unreviewed by *SET-U. Separate numbered origins and differing source variants are preserved; agreement within this extraction is not independent corroboration.

Source etymology 1

Original entry ↗
suffix

A neutral chemical compound. · An enzyme. · An antibiotic. · A pharmaceutical product.

Selected source glosses provide context, not a complete modern definition inventory

Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *-nós Proto-Indo-European *-iHnos Proto-Italic *-īnos Latin -īnusder. Old French -inbor. Middle English -in English -ineclip. English -in Clipping of -ine.

Inspect preserved source fields

Raw extraction fields are retained for auditing. Their order does not establish ancestry.

{
  "templates": [
    {
      "name": "ety",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": ":clip",
        "3": "-ine<id:pertaining to>",
        "id": "chemical compound suffix",
        "text": "+",
        "tree": "1"
      },
      "expansion": "Etymology tree\nProto-Indo-European *-nós\nProto-Indo-European *-iHnos\nProto-Italic *-īnos\nLatin -īnusder.\nOld French -inbor.\nMiddle English -in\nEnglish -ineclip.\nEnglish -in\n[Appendix:Glossary#clipping|Clipping]] of\", \"terms\" : [ { \"id\" : \"pertaining to\", \"children\" : [ { \"terms\" : [ { \"children\" : [ { \"keyword_abbrev\" : \"bor.\", \"keyword_label\" : \"Borrowed from\", \"terms\" : [ { \"children\" : [ { \"keyword_abbrev\" : \"der.\", \"keyword_label\" : \"Derived from\", \"terms\" : [ { \"children\" : [ { \"terms\" : [ { \"children\" : [ { \"terms\" : [ { \"id\" : \"adjectives of materials\", \"children\" : [ { \"terms\" : [ { \"id\" : \"verbal adjectives\", \"children\" : [ ], \"status\" : \"ok\", \"lang_name\" : \"Proto-Indo-European\", \"term\" : \"*-nós\", \"lang\" : \"ine-pro\" } ], \"keyword_label\" : \"From\", \"keyword\" : \"from\" } ], \"status\" : \"ok\", \"lang_name\" : \"Proto-Indo-European\", \"term\" : \"*-iHnos\", \"lang\" : \"ine-pro\" } ], \"keyword_label\" : \"Inherited from\", \"keyword\" : \"inherited\" } ], \"lang_name\" : \"Proto-Italic\", \"term\" : \"*-īnos\", \"status\" : \"ok\", \"lang\" : \"itc-pro\" } ], \"keyword_label\" : \"Inherited from\", \"keyword\" : \"inherited\" } ], \"lang_name\" : \"Latin\", \"term\" : \"-īnus\", \"status\" : \"ok\", \"lang\" : \"la\" } ], \"keyword\" : \"derived\" } ], \"lang_name\" : \"Old French\", \"term\" : \"-in\", \"status\" : \"inline\", \"lang\" : \"fro\" } ], \"keyword\" : \"bor\" } ], \"lang_name\" : \"Middle English\", \"term\" : \"-in\", \"status\" : \"inline\", \"lang\" : \"enm\" } ], \"keyword_label\" : \"Inherited from\", \"keyword\" : \"inherited\" } ], \"status\" : \"ok\", \"lang_name\" : \"English\", \"term\" : \"-ine\", \"lang\" : \"en\" } ], \"keyword\" : \"clipping\" } ], \"status\" : \"ok\", \"lang_name\" : \"English\", \"term\" : \"-in\", \"lang\" : \"en\" }\" data-id=\"chemical compound suffix\" data-lang=\"en\" data-title=\"-in\" id=\"English:_chemical_compound_suffix\">\nClipping of -ine."
    },
    {
      "name": "ety",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": ":clip",
        "3": "-ine<id:pertaining to>",
        "id": "chemical compound suffix",
        "text": "+",
        "tree": "1"
      },
      "expansion": "Etymology tree\nProto-Indo-European *-nós\nProto-Indo-European *-iHnos\nProto-Italic *-īnos\nLatin -īnusder.\nOld French -inbor.\nMiddle English -in\nEnglish -ineclip.\nEnglish -in\nClipping of -ine."
    }
  ],
  "links": [
    [
      "*-nós",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-Indo-European/-nós#Proto-Indo-European:_verbal_adjectives"
    ],
    [
      "*-iHnos",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-Indo-European/-iHnos#Proto-Indo-European:_adjectives_of_materials"
    ],
    [
      "*-īnos",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-Italic/-īnos"
    ],
    [
      "-īnus",
      "-inus#Latin"
    ],
    [
      "-in",
      "-in#Old_French"
    ],
    [
      "-in",
      "-in#Middle_English"
    ],
    [
      "-ine",
      "-ine#English:_pertaining_to"
    ],
    [
      "-ine",
      "-ine#English:_pertaining_to"
    ]
  ],
  "references": [],
  "descendants": [],
  "lexical": [
    {
      "pos": "suffix",
      "glosses": [
        "A neutral chemical compound.",
        "An enzyme.",
        "An antibiotic.",
        "A pharmaceutical product."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "countable",
        "morpheme",
        "uncountable"
      ],
      "recordId": "83571f05a35f1e87e86bee84f6ec6bc062d9614a41461f663c64177884388f8a",
      "rawRecordSha256": "9c8e694a6598be589c14b8ed825e738c7ef80b6e7213f31a5836fc1da02aadc2",
      "sourceRecordOrdinal": 216542
    }
  ],
  "omittedAuxiliaryFields": {
    "templates": 0,
    "links": 0,
    "references": 0,
    "descendants": 0,
    "lexicalRecords": 0,
    "lexicalSenses": 0,
    "glosses": 0
  }
}

Source etymology 2

Original entry ↗
suffix

Attached to a word (usually a verb) to denote a protest, demonstration or other type of gathering characterized by the activity denoted by the base word.

Selected source glosses provide context, not a complete modern definition inventory

From the particle in, modelled after sit-in. Compare -off.

Inspect preserved source fields

Raw extraction fields are retained for auditing. Their order does not establish ancestry.

{
  "templates": [],
  "links": [
    [
      "in",
      "in#English"
    ],
    [
      "sit-in",
      "sit-in#English"
    ],
    [
      "-off",
      "-off#English"
    ]
  ],
  "references": [],
  "descendants": [],
  "lexical": [
    {
      "pos": "suffix",
      "glosses": [
        "Attached to a word (usually a verb) to denote a protest, demonstration or other type of gathering characterized by the activity denoted by the base word."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "morpheme"
      ],
      "recordId": "22418a9e16f5262177f6ad76c263de4c227bc26906a1ddb2f8e70e0c6dbfdb7a",
      "rawRecordSha256": "48b2923be4edee5e3f2e5ad8dd1a139378e84798a4c532221f5e3f0f9ec0c8de",
      "sourceRecordOrdinal": 216543
    }
  ],
  "omittedAuxiliaryFields": {
    "templates": 0,
    "links": 0,
    "references": 0,
    "descendants": 0,
    "lexicalRecords": 0,
    "lexicalSenses": 0,
    "glosses": 0
  }
}

Source etymology 3

Original entry ↗
suffix

Alternative form of -ing.

Selected source glosses provide context, not a complete modern definition inventory

Emically usually held to be a clipping of -ing. Etically a prosodically coexistent alternative form thereof in some varieties.

Inspect preserved source fields

Raw extraction fields are retained for auditing. Their order does not establish ancestry.

{
  "templates": [
    {
      "name": "clipping",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "-ing",
        "nocap": "1"
      },
      "expansion": "clipping of -ing"
    }
  ],
  "links": [
    [
      "-ing",
      "-ing#English"
    ]
  ],
  "references": [],
  "descendants": [],
  "lexical": [
    {
      "pos": "suffix",
      "glosses": [
        "Alternative form of -ing."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "alt-of",
        "alternative",
        "dialectal",
        "informal",
        "morpheme"
      ],
      "recordId": "dcede5d52f6a94a3e70042504f86a828eba973906258ff9f93a088917eb13686",
      "rawRecordSha256": "58b48694eeffc30506e55474cc958fc4ad2c32b00bb2dd23fc969a8b0dd557e6",
      "sourceRecordOrdinal": 216544
    }
  ],
  "omittedAuxiliaryFields": {
    "templates": 0,
    "links": 0,
    "references": 0,
    "descendants": 0,
    "lexicalRecords": 0,
    "lexicalSenses": 0,
    "glosses": 0
  }
}

Where this record stops

This page does not supply an independently verified sound-change sequence, first-use manuscript or complete family tree unless a cited analysis explicitly establishes one. Missing detail here is a limit of this record—not a claim that humanity knows nothing more.

An older meaning does not determine what a word must mean today. Follow the sources, preserve disagreements, and keep ancestry separate from interpretation.

Contribute located evidence for -in →

Source and snapshot

Imported from Wiktionary contributors; extracted by Tatu Ylonen / Wiktextract / Kaikki.org. Selected fields are reformatted and grouped; wording, source identity and etymology sections are retained. CC-BY-SA-4.0 applies to the imported source material.

Dump: 2026-10-01 · Extracted: 2026-10-30. These are snapshot dates, not the word’s first attestation or the page’s revision date.

Source entry and bibliography ↗Wiktionary revision history ↗Acquisition and rights ledger
Machine-source provenance
Source SHA-256
5ff2c072f8099f2d2ce484bd6957bf179f046d2ad37bc36555edf8bb84cb5291
Import run
73216b9a9b78ed3830994bf853103716f5a4dc57099e371e9f8fdc468facca26
Permanent entry ID
w-LWlu