*SET-U

English word origin

Etymology of dint

From Middle English dint, dent, dünt, from Old English dynt (“dint, blow, strike, stroke, bruise, stripe; the mark left by a blow; the sound or noise made by a blow, thud”), from Proto-Germanic *duntiz (“a blow”), from P

2 source sectionsExtended source reportWiktionary original ↗
In this entry · 2 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 ↗
noun

Especially in by dint of: force, power. · The mark left by a blow; an indentation or impression made by violence; a dent. · A blow, stroke, especially dealt in a fight.

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

From Middle English dint, dent, dünt, from Old English dynt (“dint, blow, strike, stroke, bruise, stripe; the mark left by a blow; the sound or noise made by a blow, thud”), from Proto-Germanic *duntiz (“a blow”), from Proto-Indo-European *dʰen- (“to strike, hit”). Cognate with Swedish dialectal dunt, Icelandic dyntr (“a dint”). Doublet of dent.

Relationships mentioned by the source

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

  • Inherited-form mentiondintenm
  • Inherited-form mentiondyntang · dint, blow, strike, stroke, bruise, stripe; the mark left by a blow; the sound or noise made by a blow, thud
  • Inherited-form mention*duntizgem-pro · a blow
  • Derivation mention*dʰen-ine-pro
  • Cognate mentiondyntris · a dint
  • Doublet mentiondenten
Inspect preserved source fields

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

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      "name": "inh",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "enm",
        "3": "dint"
      },
      "expansion": "Middle English dint"
    },
    {
      "name": "inh",
      "args": {
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        "2": "ang",
        "3": "dynt",
        "t": "dint, blow, strike, stroke, bruise, stripe; the mark left by a blow; the sound or noise made by a blow, thud"
      },
      "expansion": "Old English dynt (“dint, blow, strike, stroke, bruise, stripe; the mark left by a blow; the sound or noise made by a blow, thud”)"
    },
    {
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        "2": "gem-pro",
        "3": "*duntiz",
        "t": "a blow"
      },
      "expansion": "Proto-Germanic *duntiz (“a blow”)"
    },
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        "4": "",
        "5": "to strike, hit"
      },
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    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "sv",
        "2": "-"
      },
      "expansion": "Swedish"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "is",
        "2": "dyntr",
        "t": "a dint"
      },
      "expansion": "Icelandic dyntr (“a dint”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "doublet",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "dent"
      },
      "expansion": "Doublet of dent"
    }
  ],
  "links": [
    [
      "dint",
      "dint#Middle_English"
    ],
    [
      "dent",
      "dent#Middle_English"
    ],
    [
      "dünt",
      "dunt#Middle_English"
    ],
    [
      "dynt",
      "dynt#Old_English"
    ],
    [
      "*duntiz",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-Germanic/duntiz"
    ],
    [
      "*dʰen-",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-Indo-European/dʰen-"
    ],
    [
      "dunt",
      "dunt#Swedish"
    ],
    [
      "dyntr",
      "dyntr#Icelandic"
    ],
    [
      "dent",
      "dent#English"
    ]
  ],
  "references": [],
  "descendants": [],
  "lexical": [
    {
      "pos": "noun",
      "glosses": [
        "Especially in by dint of: force, power.",
        "The mark left by a blow; an indentation or impression made by violence; a dent.",
        "A blow, stroke, especially dealt in a fight."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "countable",
        "uncountable",
        "obsolete"
      ],
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}

Source etymology 2

Original entry ↗
verb

To dent.

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

From Middle English dinten, from the noun. Compare Old Norse dynta.

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.

{
  "templates": [
    {
      "name": "inh",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "enm",
        "3": "dinten"
      },
      "expansion": "Middle English dinten"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "non",
        "2": "dynta"
      },
      "expansion": "Old Norse dynta"
    }
  ],
  "links": [
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    ],
    [
      "the noun",
      "#Etymology 1"
    ],
    [
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      "dynta#Old_Norse"
    ]
  ],
  "references": [],
  "descendants": [],
  "lexical": [
    {
      "pos": "verb",
      "glosses": [
        "To dent."
      ],
      "tags": [],
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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 dint →

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-ZGludA