English word origin

Etymology of lin

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 ↗

verb

To desist, to stop, to cease.

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

From Middle English linnen, from Old English linnan (“to cease from, desist, lose, yield up”), from Proto-West Germanic *linnan, from Proto-Germanic *linnaną (“to turn, move aside, avoid”), from Proto-Indo-European *ley- (“to elude, avoid, shrink from”). Cognate with Danish linne (“to stop, rest”), dialectal Swedish linna (“to pause, rest”), Icelandic linna (“to stop, rest”).

Relationships mentioned by the source

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

Inherited-form mentionlinnenenm
Inherited-form mentionlinnanang
Inherited-form mention*linnangmw-pro
Inherited-form mention*linnanągem-pro
Derivation mention*ley-ine-pro
Cognate mentionlinneda
Cognate mentionlinnasv
Cognate mentionlinnais

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": "linnen"
      },
      "expansion": "Middle English linnen"
    },
    {
      "name": "inh",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "ang",
        "3": "linnan",
        "4": "",
        "5": "to cease from, desist, lose, yield up"
      },
      "expansion": "Old English linnan (“to cease from, desist, lose, yield up”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "inh",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "gmw-pro",
        "3": "*linnan"
      },
      "expansion": "Proto-West Germanic *linnan"
    },
    {
      "name": "inh",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "gem-pro",
        "3": "*linnaną",
        "4": "",
        "5": "to turn, move aside, avoid"
      },
      "expansion": "Proto-Germanic *linnaną (“to turn, move aside, avoid”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "der",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "ine-pro",
        "3": "*ley-",
        "4": "",
        "5": "to elude, avoid, shrink from"
      },
      "expansion": "Proto-Indo-European *ley- (“to elude, avoid, shrink from”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "da",
        "2": "linne",
        "3": "",
        "4": "to stop, rest"
      },
      "expansion": "Danish linne (“to stop, rest”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "sv",
        "2": "linna",
        "3": "",
        "4": "to pause, rest"
      },
      "expansion": "Swedish linna (“to pause, rest”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "is",
        "2": "linna",
        "3": "",
        "4": "to stop, rest"
      },
      "expansion": "Icelandic linna (“to stop, rest”)"
    }
  ],
  "links": [
    [
      "linnen",
      "linnen#Middle_English"
    ],
    [
      "linnan",
      "linnan#Old_English"
    ],
    [
      "*linnan",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-West Germanic/linnan"
    ],
    [
      "*linnaną",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-Germanic/linnaną"
    ],
    [
      "*ley-",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-Indo-European/ley-"
    ],
    [
      "linne",
      "linne#Danish"
    ],
    [
      "linna",
      "linna#Swedish"
    ],
    [
      "linna",
      "linna#Icelandic"
    ]
  ],
  "references": [],
  "descendants": [],
  "lexical": [
    {
      "pos": "verb",
      "glosses": [
        "To desist, to stop, to cease."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "Northern-England",
        "Scotland",
        "UK",
        "dialectal"
      ],
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}

Source etymology 2

Original entry ↗

noun

Alternative spelling of linn.

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

See English linn.

Relationships mentioned by the source

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

Cognate mentionlinnen

Inspect preserved source fields

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

{
  "templates": [
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "linn"
      },
      "expansion": "English linn"
    }
  ],
  "links": [
    [
      "linn",
      "linn#English"
    ]
  ],
  "references": [],
  "descendants": [],
  "lexical": [
    {
      "pos": "noun",
      "glosses": [
        "Alternative spelling of linn."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "alt-of",
        "alternative"
      ],
      "recordId": "83735a4d0fdb5dc51ce0fb07b12fdf41941d1e8729f7d1a65aecbadc722e31bf",
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Source etymology 3

Original entry ↗

noun

Alternative form of line (“flax, linen”).

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

From Middle English lin, from Old English līn (“flax, linen, cloth”). For more information, see the entry linen, lint.

Relationships mentioned by the source

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

Inherited-form mentionlinenm
Inherited-form mentionlīnang · flax, linen, cloth

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": "lin"
      },
      "expansion": "Middle English lin"
    },
    {
      "name": "inh",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "ang",
        "3": "līn",
        "t": "flax, linen, cloth"
      },
      "expansion": "Old English līn (“flax, linen, cloth”)"
    }
  ],
  "links": [
    [
      "lin",
      "lin#Middle_English"
    ],
    [
      "līn",
      "lin#Old_English"
    ],
    [
      "linen",
      "linen#English"
    ],
    [
      "lint",
      "lint#English"
    ]
  ],
  "references": [],
  "descendants": [],
  "lexical": [
    {
      "pos": "noun",
      "glosses": [
        "Alternative form of line (“flax, linen”)."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "Ireland",
        "Northern-England",
        "Scotland",
        "alt-of",
        "alternative",
        "especially",
        "in-compounds"
      ],
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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 lin →

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-bGlu