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hint

From Wiktionary, the free dictionary
See also: Hint

English

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English Wikipedia has an article on:
Wikipedia

Etymology

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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.

Pronunciation

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  • IPA(key): /hɪnt/
  • Audio (US):(file)
  • Rhymes: -ɪnt

Noun

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hint (plural hints)

  1. A clue.
    Synonyms: indication, tip
    I needed a hint to complete the crossword.
  2. An implicit suggestion that avoids a direct statement.
    Synonyms: allusion, implication, innuendo, insinuation, nod
    He gave me a hint that my breath smelt.
  3. A small, barely detectable amount.
    Synonyms: touch, trace; see also Thesaurus:modicum
    There was a hint of irony in his voice.
    I could taste a hint of lemon in my iced water.
  4. (computing) 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.
    This font does not scale well to small sizes; the hints for the 10-point letter 'g' still need work.
  5. (databases) An instruction to the database engine as to how a query should be executed, for example whether to use an index or not.
  6. (obsolete) An opportunity; occasion; fit time.
    Synonyms: chance, moment

Derived terms

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Descendants

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  • → Danish: hint
  • → Dutch: hint
  • → Japanese: ヒント (hinto)
  • → Norwegian Bokmål: hint
  • → Norwegian Nynorsk: hint
  • → Swedish: hint

Translations

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The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.
Translations to be checked

Verb

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hint (third-person singular simple present hints, present participle hinting, simple past and past participle hinted)

  1. (intransitive) To imply without a direct statement; to provide a clue.
    Synonym: intimate
    She hinted at the possibility of a recount of the votes.
    • 1913, Robert Barr, chapter 4, in Lord Stranleigh Abroad:
      I have tried, as I hinted, to enlist the co-operation of other capitalists, but experience has taught me that any appeal is futile that does not impinge directly upon cupidity.
  2. (transitive) To bring to mind by a slight mention or remote allusion; to suggest in an indirect manner.
    to hint a suspicion
  3. (transitive) To develop and add hints to a font.
    The typographer worked all day on hinting her new font so it would look good on computer screens.
  4. (transitive, nonstandard) To give (a person) a hint; to tip off.
    If you find the treasure in the video game, please do not hint other players about it.

Synonyms

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Derived terms

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Translations

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Interjection

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hint

  1. (often reduplicated) Signifies that something previously said should be taken as a hint or heeded closely.
    And yes, as long as you are being a good coder and engaging in safe practices, nothing should go wrong. (Hint, hint.)

Anagrams

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Danish

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Etymology 1

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From English hint.

Pronunciation

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Noun

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hint n (singular definite hintet, plural indefinite hint or hints)

  1. hint, clue

Etymology 2

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See the etymology of the corresponding lemma form.

Pronunciation

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  • IPA(key): [ˈhiˀnd̥], [hind̥]

Pronoun

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hint

  1. neuter singular of hin

Dutch

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Etymology

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Borrowing from English hint.

Pronunciation

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Noun

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hint f or m (plural hints, diminutive hintje n)

  1. hint

Synonyms

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See also

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Verb

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hint

  1. inflection of hinten:
    1. first/second/third-person singular present indicative
    2. imperative

Hungarian

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Etymology

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From an unattested stem of unknown origin + -t (causative suffix).[1][2] The stem was probably him-, related to obsolete himlik and thus himlő. It may have had at least a variant with velar /ɯ/, giving rise to the forms hinta and hintó, as reflected by their back-vowel suffixes.[3]

Pronunciation

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Verb

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hint

  1. (transitive) to scatter, sprinkle (to cause a substance to fall in fine drops (for a liquid substance) or small pieces (for a solid substance))
    Synonyms: szór, hullat
    A cukrász porcukrot hint a süteményre. ― The confectioner sprinkles powedered sugar on the cookie.

Conjugation

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Conjugation of hint
Click for archaic forms 1st person sg 2nd person sg
informal 		3rd person sg,
2nd p. sg formal 		1st person pl 2nd person pl
informal 		3rd person pl,
2nd p. pl formal
indica­tive indica­tive pre­sent indef. hintek hintesz hint hintünk hintetek hintenek
def. hintem hinted hinti hintjük hintitek hintik
2nd obj hintelek
past indef. hintettem hintettél hintett hintettünk hintettetek hintettek
def. hintettem hintetted hintette hintettük hintettétek hintették
2nd obj hintettelek
future
Future is expressed with a present-tense verb with a completion-marking prefix and/or a time adverb, or—more explicitly—with the infinitive plus the conjugated auxiliary verb fog, e.g. hinteni fog.
archaic
preterite 		indef. hinték hintél hinte hinténk hintétek hintének
def. hintém hintéd hinté hinténk hintétek hinték
2nd obj hintélek
archaic past Two additional past tenses: the present and the (current) past forms followed by vala (volt), e.g. hint vala, hintett vala/volt.
archaic future indef. hintendek hintendesz hintend hintendünk hintendetek hintendenek
def. hintendem hintended hintendi hintendjük hintenditek hintendik
2nd obj hintendelek
condi­tional pre­sent indef. hintenék hintenél hintene hintenénk hintenétek hintenének
def. hinteném hintenéd hintené hintenénk
(or hintenők) 		hintenétek hintenék
2nd obj hintenélek
past Indicative past forms followed by volna, e.g. hintett volna
sub­junc­tive sub­junc­tive pre­sent indef. hintsek hints or
hintsél 		hintsen hintsünk hintsetek hintsenek
def. hintsem hintsd or
hintsed 		hintse hintsük hintsétek hintsék
2nd obj hintselek
(archaic) past Indicative past forms followed by légyen, e.g. hintett légyen
infinitive hinteni hintenem hintened hintenie hintenünk hintenetek hinteniük
other
forms 		verbal noun present part. past part. future part. adverbial participle causative
hintés hintő hintett hintendő hintve (hintvén)
The archaic passive conjugation had the same -(t)at/-(t)et suffix as the causative, followed by -ik in the 3rd-person singular
(and the concomitant changes in conditional and subjunctive mostly in the 1st- and 3rd-person singular like with other traditional -ik verbs).
Potential conjugation of hint
Click for archaic forms 1st person sg 2nd person sg
informal 		3rd person sg,
2nd p. sg formal 		1st person pl 2nd person pl
informal 		3rd person pl,
2nd p. pl formal
indica­tive indica­tive pre­sent indef. hinthetek hinthetsz hinthet hinthetünk hinthettek hinthetnek
def. hinthetem hintheted hintheti hinthetjük hinthetitek hinthetik
2nd obj hinthetlek
past indef. hinthettem hinthettél hinthetett hinthettünk hinthettetek hinthettek
def. hinthettem hinthetted hinthette hinthettük hinthettétek hinthették
2nd obj hinthettelek
archaic
preterite 		indef. hintheték hinthetél hinthete hintheténk hinthetétek hinthetének
def. hinthetém hinthetéd hintheté hintheténk hinthetétek hintheték
2nd obj hinthetélek
archaic past Two additional past tenses: the present and the (current) past forms followed by vala (volt), e.g. hinthet vala, hinthetett vala/volt.
archaic future indef. hinthetendek
or hintandhatok 		hinthetendesz
or hintandhatsz 		hinthetend
or hintandhat 		hinthetendünk
or hintandhatunk 		hinthetendetek
or hintandhattok 		hinthetendenek
or hintandhatnak
def. hinthetendem
or hintandhatom 		hinthetended
or hintandhatod 		hinthetendi
or hintandhatja 		hinthetendjük
or hintandhatjuk 		hinthetenditek
or hintandhatjátok 		hinthetendik
or hintandhatják
2nd obj hinthetendelek
or hintandhatlak
condi­tional pre­sent indef. hinthetnék hinthetnél hinthetne hinthetnénk hinthetnétek hinthetnének
def. hinthetném hinthetnéd hinthetné hinthetnénk
(or hinthetnők) 		hinthetnétek hinthetnék
2nd obj hinthetnélek
past Indicative past forms followed by volna, e.g. hinthetett volna
sub­junc­tive sub­junc­tive pre­sent indef. hinthessek hinthess or
hinthessél 		hinthessen hinthessünk hinthessetek hinthessenek
def. hinthessem hinthesd or
hinthessed 		hinthesse hinthessük hinthessétek hinthessék
2nd obj hinthesselek
(archaic) past Indicative past forms followed by légyen, e.g. hinthetett légyen
infinitive (hinthetni) (hinthetnem) (hinthetned) (hinthetnie) (hinthetnünk) (hinthetnetek) (hinthetniük)
other
forms 		positive adjective negative adjective adverbial participle
hinthető hinthetetlen (hinthetve / hinthetvén)

Derived terms

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With verbal prefixes
Compound words

References

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  1. ^ hint in Zaicz, Gábor (ed.). Etimológiai szótár: Magyar szavak és toldalékok eredete (‘Dictionary of Etymology: The origin of Hungarian words and affixes’). Budapest: Tinta Könyvkiadó, 2006, →ISBN.  (See also its 2nd edition.)
  2. ^ hint in Tótfalusi, István. Magyar etimológiai nagyszótár (’Hungarian Comprehensive Dictionary of Etymology’). Budapest: Arcanum Adatbázis, 2001; Arcanum DVD Könyvtár →ISBN
  3. ^ hint in Károly Gerstner, editor, Új magyar etimológiai szótár [New Etymological Dictionary of Hungarian] (ÚESz.), Online edition (beta version), Budapest: MTA Research Institute for Linguistics / Hungarian Research Centre for Linguistics, 2011–2025.

Further reading

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  • hint in Géza Bárczi, László Országh, et al., editors, A magyar nyelv értelmező szótára [The Explanatory Dictionary of the Hungarian Language] (ÉrtSz.), Budapest: Akadémiai Kiadó, 1959–1962. Fifth ed., 1992: →ISBN.

Norwegian Bokmål

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Pronunciation

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  • IPA(key): /hɪnt/, [hɪnt]
  • Rhymes: -ɪnt
  • Hyphenation: hint

Etymology 1

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Borrowed from English hint.[1] The English noun originally meant “occasion, opportunity” and is probably an alteration of obsolete hent (“a grasp; act of seizing”), from the verb Middle English henten (“to seize; grasp”) (also hinten), from Old English hentan (“to seize; pursue”), from Proto-Germanic *hantijaną (“to pursue; follow”).[2][3][4] This explanation connects the notion of seizing something with taking advantage of an opportunity.

The deeper formation is uncertain. Kroonen connects the Germanic verb with *huntōną (“to hunt; chase”) and *hinþaną (“to reach for; catch”), ultimately associated with a proposed Proto-Indo-European *ḱent- (“to reach; sting”) root; compare English hunt.[5]

Compare the parallel borrowings Norwegian Nynorsk hint, Danish hint, Swedish hint, Japanese ヒント (hinto) and Korean 힌트 (hinteu, “hint; clue”).

Noun

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hint n (definite singular hintet, indefinite plural hint, definite plural hinta or hintene)

  1. hint, clue; an indirect suggestion or a piece of information that helps someone understand or discover something.
    Synonyms: hentydning, vink
    gi noen et hint om noe ― give someone a hint about something
    Kan du gi meg et hint om løsningen? ― Can you give me a hint about the solution?
    • 1973, Tor Edvin Dahl, Guds tjener‎[1], page 191:
      hjemmedrillen var et hint fra faren om at han burde pusse opp rommet
      the DIY drill was a hint from his father that he ought to do up his room
    • 1975, Erling Pedersen, Nilsen‎[2], page 19:
      artikkelen ble avsluttet med en del hint om at Vernelaget burde ha grepet inn før
      the article ended with a number of hints that Vernelaget should have intervened earlier
    • 1982, Fredrik Skagen, Viktor! Viktor!‎[3], page 94:
      de trodde ikke han la merke til de små hintene
      they did not think he noticed the little hints
    ta hintet — to take a hint; understand an indirect suggestion.
    Hun så på klokka, og han tok hintet og gikk. ― She looked at the clock, and he took the hint and left.
    • 2003, Tore Renberg, Mannen som elsket Yngve‎[4]:
      Helge dunka i ham, og han tok hintet med en gang, slapp puppene og leppene til dama og sa «nå?»
      Helge nudged him, and he took the hint straight away, let go of the woman's boobs and lips, and said, “Well?”
    hint, hint (colloquial) — used to signal that a remark should be understood as a suggestion or request.
    Jeg har snart bursdag, og denne boka ser spennende ut. Hint, hint! ― My birthday is coming up, and this book looks interesting. Hint, hint!
    • 2004 December 23, Sarpsborg Arbeiderblad:
      å gi bort en deodorant blir veldig ‘hint, hint, du kunne ha bruk for en slik en’
      giving deodorant as a gift is very much a case of ‘hint, hint, you could use one of these’
    • 2010 June 25, Askøyværingen, page 26:
      sjefen fyller 39 og alle undersåtter gratulerer med dagen i dag 25. juni. Vi gleder oss til kake i lunsjen (hint-hint)
      the boss turns 39, and all the underlings send their birthday wishes today, 25 June. We are looking forward to cake at lunchtime (hint, hint)
  2. hint, trace, touch; a small amount or faint indication of something.
    Synonyms: anelse, snev
    Sausen hadde et hint av sitron. ― The sauce had a hint of lemon.
    • 2005, Jan Kjærstad, Kongen av Europa:
      tenk å kunne kjenne et hint av fiken, marsipan og vanilje i en whisky!
      imagine being able to detect a hint of fig, marzipan and vanilla in a whisky!
    • 2011 September 15, Aftenposten:
      debuten til stavangerbandet Tôg henter inspirasjon fra svært forskjellige steder: Filmmusikk, garasjerock og et hint av disco
      Stavanger band Tôg's debut draws inspiration from widely differing sources: film music, garage rock and a hint of disco
    • 2013, Lise Finckenhagen, Slikkepott, page 132:
      et hint av rosmarin er helt nydelig til blant annet epler, pærer og aprikos
      a hint of rosemary is absolutely lovely with apples, pears and apricots, among other things
    • 2014, Sylvia Day, Grepet av deg‎[5], Bastion Forlag, →ISBN:
      Mykt og taktfast, erfarent, med akkurat det rette hintet av lidenskap holdt i tøyler.
      Soft and measured, experienced, with just the right hint of passion kept in check.
Derived terms
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Etymology 2

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See the etymology of the corresponding lemma form.

Determiner

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hint

  1. neuter singular of hin (“that; the other”)

Pronoun

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hint

  1. neuter singular of hin (“that; the other; the former”)

Etymology 3

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See the etymology of the corresponding lemma form.

Verb

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hint

  1. imperative of hinte (“to hint”)

References

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  1. ^ “hint” in Norwegian Academy Dictionary (NAOB).
  2. ^ “hint”, Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary.
  3. ^ “hint”, Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary.
  4. ^ Vladimir Orel (2003), A Handbook of Germanic Etymology, page 161, s.v. “*xantjanan”.
  5. ^ Guus Kroonen (2013), Etymological Dictionary of Proto-Germanic, pages 227 and 257, s.vv. “*hinþan-” and “*huntōn-”.

Norwegian Nynorsk

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Etymology

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From English hint.

Noun

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hint n (definite singular hintet, indefinite plural hint, definite plural hinta)

  1. a hint

References

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Yola

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Etymology

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From Middle English hunten, from Old English huntian.

Pronunciation

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Verb

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hint

  1. to hunt
    • 1867, “CASTEALE CUDDE'S LAMENTATION”, in SONGS, ETC. IN THE DIALECT OF FORTH AND BARGY, number 6, page 104:
      To hint dhicka cursed vox vrom Bloomere's lhoan.
      To hunt that cursed fox from Bloomer's land.

References

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  • Jacob Poole (d. 1827) (before 1828), William Barnes, editor, A Glossary, With some Pieces of Verse, of the old Dialect of the English Colony in the Baronies of Forth and Bargy, County of Wexford, Ireland, London: J. Russell Smith, published 1867, page 46
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