*SET-U

English word origin

Etymology of chine

From Middle English chyne, from Old French eschine, from Frankish *skinu, from Proto-Germanic *skinō. Doublet of shin.

4 source sectionsExtended source reportWiktionary original ↗
In this entry · 4 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 ↗
verb

To cut through the backbone of (an animal, to prepare it as meat); to cut into chine pieces. · To chamfer the ends of a stave and form the chine.

noun

The top of a ridge. · The spine of an animal. · A piece of the backbone of an animal, with the adjoining parts, cut for cooking. · The back of the blade on a scythe.

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

From Middle English chyne, from Old French eschine, from Frankish *skinu, from Proto-Germanic *skinō. Doublet of shin.

Relationships mentioned by the source

These are extracted mentions, not a timeline or a verified sequence of immediate parents.

Inspect preserved source fields

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

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  "templates": [
    {
      "name": "etymid",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "spine"
      },
      "expansion": ""
    },
    {
      "name": "inh",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "enm",
        "3": "chyne",
        "id": "spine"
      },
      "expansion": "Middle English chyne"
    },
    {
      "name": "der",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "fro",
        "3": "eschine"
      },
      "expansion": "Old French eschine"
    },
    {
      "name": "der",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "frk",
        "3": "*skinu"
      },
      "expansion": "Frankish *skinu"
    },
    {
      "name": "der",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "gem-pro",
        "3": "*skinō"
      },
      "expansion": "Proto-Germanic *skinō"
    },
    {
      "name": "doublet",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "shin"
      },
      "expansion": "Doublet of shin"
    }
  ],
  "links": [
    [
      "chyne",
      "chyne#Middle_English:_spine"
    ],
    [
      "eschine",
      "eschine#Old_French"
    ],
    [
      "*skinu",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-West Germanic/skinu"
    ],
    [
      "*skinō",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-Germanic/skinō"
    ],
    [
      "shin",
      "shin#English"
    ]
  ],
  "references": [],
  "descendants": [],
  "lexical": [
    {
      "pos": "verb",
      "glosses": [
        "To cut through the backbone of (an animal, to prepare it as meat); to cut into chine pieces.",
        "To chamfer the ends of a stave and form the chine."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "transitive"
      ],
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    },
    {
      "pos": "noun",
      "glosses": [
        "The top of a ridge.",
        "The spine of an animal.",
        "A piece of the backbone of an animal, with the adjoining parts, cut for cooking.",
        "The back of the blade on a scythe."
      ],
      "tags": [],
      "recordId": "c57803b00601e89bb017597faee81e4dfc39ee2359bd812f1726d1520f1d40ff",
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}

Source etymology 2

Original entry ↗
noun

A steep-sided ravine leading from the top of a cliff down to the sea.

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

From Middle English chyne, chynne (“crack, fissure, chasm”), from Old English ċine, ċinu, from Proto-West Germanic *kinu, from Proto-Germanic *kinō.

Relationships mentioned by the source

These are extracted mentions, not a timeline or a verified sequence of immediate parents.

  • Inherited-form mentionchyneenm
  • Inherited-form mentionċineang
  • Inherited-form mention*kinugmw-pro
  • Inherited-form mention*kinōgem-pro
Inspect preserved source fields

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

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    {
      "name": "etymid",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "ravine"
      },
      "expansion": ""
    },
    {
      "name": "inh",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "enm",
        "3": "chyne",
        "id": "crack"
      },
      "expansion": "Middle English chyne"
    },
    {
      "name": "inh",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "ang",
        "3": "ċine"
      },
      "expansion": "Old English ċine"
    },
    {
      "name": "inh",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "gmw-pro",
        "3": "*kinu"
      },
      "expansion": "Proto-West Germanic *kinu"
    },
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        "1": "en",
        "2": "gem-pro",
        "3": "*kinō"
      },
      "expansion": "Proto-Germanic *kinō"
    }
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    [
      "chyne",
      "chyne#Middle_English:_crack"
    ],
    [
      "chynne",
      "chynne#Middle_English"
    ],
    [
      "ċine",
      "cine#Old_English"
    ],
    [
      "ċinu",
      "cinu#Old_English"
    ],
    [
      "*kinu",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-West Germanic/kinu"
    ],
    [
      "*kinō",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-Germanic/kinō"
    ]
  ],
  "references": [],
  "descendants": [],
  "lexical": [
    {
      "pos": "noun",
      "glosses": [
        "A steep-sided ravine leading from the top of a cliff down to the sea."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "Southern-England",
        "Vancouver"
      ],
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Source etymology 3

Original entry ↗
verb

To crack, split, fissure, break.

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

From Middle English chynen (“to crack, fissure, split”), from Old English ċīnan (“to break into pieces, burst, crack”), from Proto-West Germanic *kīnan, from Proto-Germanic *kīnaną (“to split; crack; germinate; sprout”).

Relationships mentioned by the source

These are extracted mentions, not a timeline or a verified sequence of immediate parents.

  • Inherited-form mentionchynenenm · to crack, fissure, split
  • Inherited-form mentionċīnanang · to break into pieces, burst, crack
  • Inherited-form mention*kīnangmw-pro
  • Inherited-form mention*kīnanągem-pro
Inspect preserved source fields

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

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      "args": {
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        "2": "enm",
        "3": "chynen",
        "t": "to crack, fissure, split"
      },
      "expansion": "Middle English chynen (“to crack, fissure, split”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "inh",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "ang",
        "3": "ċīnan",
        "t": "to break into pieces, burst, crack"
      },
      "expansion": "Old English ċīnan (“to break into pieces, burst, crack”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "inh",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "gmw-pro",
        "3": "*kīnan"
      },
      "expansion": "Proto-West Germanic *kīnan"
    },
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      "name": "inh",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "gem-pro",
        "3": "*kīnaną",
        "4": "",
        "5": "to split; crack; germinate; sprout"
      },
      "expansion": "Proto-Germanic *kīnaną (“to split; crack; germinate; sprout”)"
    }
  ],
  "links": [
    [
      "chynen",
      "chynen#Middle_English"
    ],
    [
      "ċīnan",
      "cinan#Old_English"
    ],
    [
      "*kīnan",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-West Germanic/kīnan"
    ],
    [
      "*kīnaną",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-Germanic/kīnaną"
    ]
  ],
  "references": [],
  "descendants": [],
  "lexical": [
    {
      "pos": "verb",
      "glosses": [
        "To crack, split, fissure, break."
      ],
      "tags": [
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Source etymology 4

Original entry ↗
noun

The edge or rim of a cask, etc., formed by the projecting ends of the staves; the chamfered end of a stave. · A hollowed or bevelled channel in the waterway of a ship's deck. · A sharp angle in the cross section of a hull. · A longitudinal line of sharp change in the cross-section profile of the fuselage or similar body.

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

From Middle English chyne, alteration of Middle English chyme, chymbe, from Old English *ċimb. More at chimb.

Relationships mentioned by the source

These are extracted mentions, not a timeline or a verified sequence of immediate parents.

  • Inherited-form mentionchyneenm
  • Cognate mentionchymeenm
  • Inherited-form mention*ċimbang
Inspect preserved source fields

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

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  "templates": [
    {
      "name": "inh",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "enm",
        "3": "chyne"
      },
      "expansion": "Middle English chyne"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "enm",
        "2": "chyme"
      },
      "expansion": "Middle English chyme"
    },
    {
      "name": "inh",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "ang",
        "3": "*ċimb"
      },
      "expansion": "Old English *ċimb"
    }
  ],
  "links": [
    [
      "chyne",
      "chyne#Middle_English"
    ],
    [
      "chyme",
      "chyme#Middle_English"
    ],
    [
      "chymbe",
      "chymbe#Middle_English"
    ],
    [
      "*ċimb",
      "Reconstruction:Old English/cimb"
    ],
    [
      "chimb",
      "chimb#English"
    ]
  ],
  "references": [],
  "descendants": [],
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      "pos": "noun",
      "glosses": [
        "The edge or rim of a cask, etc., formed by the projecting ends of the staves; the chamfered end of a stave.",
        "A hollowed or bevelled channel in the waterway of a ship's deck.",
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}

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 chine →

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-Y2hpbmU