*SET-U

English word origin

Etymology of hint

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 a

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.

Unnumbered source etymology · variant 1/2

Original entry ↗
verb

To imply without a direct statement; to provide a clue. · To bring to mind by a slight mention or remote allusion; to suggest in an indirect manner. · To develop and add hints to a font. · To give (a person) a hint; to tip off.

intj

Signifies that something previously said should be taken as a hint or heeded closely.

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

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.

Relationships mentioned by the source

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

  • Inherited-form mentionhintenenm
  • Inherited-form mentionhentanang · to seize, grasp
  • Inherited-form mention*hantijangmw-pro
  • Inherited-form mention*hantijanągem-pro
  • Doublet mentionhenten
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",
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        "3": "hinten"
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      "expansion": "Middle English hinten"
    },
    {
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      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "ang",
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    },
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    },
    {
      "name": "doublet",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "hent"
      },
      "expansion": "Doublet of hent"
    }
  ],
  "links": [
    [
      "hinten",
      "hinten#Middle_English"
    ],
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      "hynten",
      "hynten#Middle_English"
    ],
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      "henten",
      "henten#Middle_English"
    ],
    [
      "hentan",
      "hentan#Old_English"
    ],
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      "*hantijan",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-West Germanic/hantijan"
    ],
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      "*hantijaną",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-Germanic/hantijaną"
    ],
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      "hent",
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    ],
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      "hunt",
      "hunt#English"
    ]
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    {
      "pos": "verb",
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        "To imply without a direct statement; to provide a clue.",
        "To bring to mind by a slight mention or remote allusion; to suggest in an indirect manner.",
        "To develop and add hints to a font.",
        "To give (a person) a hint; to tip off."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "intransitive",
        "transitive",
        "nonstandard"
      ],
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      "pos": "intj",
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        "Signifies that something previously said should be taken as a hint or heeded closely."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "often",
        "reduplication"
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}

Unnumbered source etymology · variant 2/2

Original entry ↗
noun

A clue. · An implicit suggestion that avoids a direct statement. · A small, barely detectable amount. · 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.

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

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.

Relationships mentioned by the source

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

  • Inherited-form mentionhintenenm
  • Inherited-form mentionhentanang · to seize, grasp
  • Inherited-form mention*hantijangmw-pro
  • Inherited-form mention*hantijanągem-pro
  • Doublet mentionhenten

This page abbreviates 2 auxiliary source items. The etymology narrative is not shortened. Omission counts are available in the audit fields below; consult the original for complete auxiliary material.

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": "hinten"
      },
      "expansion": "Middle English hinten"
    },
    {
      "name": "inh",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "ang",
        "3": "hentan",
        "t": "to seize, grasp"
      },
      "expansion": "Old English hentan (“to seize, grasp”)"
    },
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    },
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    },
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      "name": "doublet",
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        "1": "en",
        "2": "hent"
      },
      "expansion": "Doublet of hent"
    }
  ],
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      "hynten#Middle_English"
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      "henten#Middle_English"
    ],
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      "hentan#Old_English"
    ],
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    ],
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      "*hantijaną",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-Germanic/hantijaną"
    ],
    [
      "hent",
      "hent#English"
    ],
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      "hunt",
      "hunt#English"
    ]
  ],
  "references": [],
  "descendants": [
    {
      "lang": "Danish",
      "lang_code": "da",
      "word": "hint",
      "raw_tags": [
        "borrowed"
      ]
    },
    {
      "lang": "Dutch",
      "lang_code": "nl",
      "word": "hint",
      "raw_tags": [
        "borrowed"
      ]
    },
    {
      "lang": "Japanese",
      "lang_code": "ja",
      "word": "ヒント",
      "raw_tags": [
        "borrowed"
      ],
      "roman": "hinto"
    },
    {
      "lang": "Norwegian Bokmål",
      "lang_code": "nb",
      "word": "hint",
      "raw_tags": [
        "borrowed"
      ]
    },
    {
      "lang": "Norwegian Nynorsk",
      "lang_code": "nn",
      "word": "hint",
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      "lang_code": "sv",
      "word": "hint",
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      ]
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        "A clue.",
        "An implicit suggestion that avoids a direct statement.",
        "A small, barely detectable amount.",
        "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."
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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 hint →

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-aGludA