English word origin

Etymology of pinky

Etymology tree Dutch pinkenbor. English pink Proto-Indo-European *-kos Proto-Germanic *-gaz Proto-West Germanic *-g Old English -iġ Middle English -y English -y English pinky From pink + -y.

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 ↗

adj

Pinkish.

noun

Methylated spirits mixed with red wine or Condy's crystals. · A baby mouse, especially when used as food for a snake, etc. · A white person. · The Australasian snapper or pink snapper (Chrysophrys auratus).

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

Etymology tree Dutch pinkenbor. English pink Proto-Indo-European *-kos Proto-Germanic *-gaz Proto-West Germanic *-g Old English -iġ Middle English -y English -y English pinky From pink + -y.

This page abbreviates 1 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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Source etymology 2

Original entry ↗

noun

The smallest finger or toe of a hand or foot.

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

From Dutch pinkje, diminutive of Dutch pink (“little finger”). Cognate with West Frisian pinke (“pinky”), dialectal English pink (“something small or tiny”), and perhaps to Old English pinca (“a point”). Compare also German Low German Pink (“penis”), English pintle (“penis”).

Relationships mentioned by the source

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

Borrowed-form mentionpinkjenl
Derivation mentionpinknl · little finger
Cognate mentionpinkefy · pinky
Cognate mentionpinken · something small or tiny
Cognate mentionpincaang · a point
Cognate mentionpintleen · penis

Inspect preserved source fields

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

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Source etymology 3

Original entry ↗

adj

winking

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

From pink + -y, from pink (“to wink”).

Inspect preserved source fields

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

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Where this record stops

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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-cGlua3k