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inch

From Wiktionary, the free dictionary
See also:Inch

English

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Pronunciation

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Etymology 1

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FromMiddle Englishynche,enche, fromOld Englishynċe, borrowed fromLatinuncia(“Roman inch,varioussimilarunits”), ultimately fromProto-Indo-European*óynos(“one”). Cognate withMiddle Dutchenke(“thumb, thumb's width, inch”).Doublet ofounce,uncia,onça,onza,oka,ouguiya, andawqiyyah.

Alternative forms

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Noun

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inch (pluralinchesor(UK colloquial)inch)(abbreviatedin.,″)

  1. AnEnglishunit oflengthequal to 1/12 of afoot or 2.54cm, conceived asroughly thewidth of athumb.
    • 1873,Charles Tomlinson, chapter III, inWinter in the Arctic Regions and Summer in the Antarctic Regions‎[1], London:Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge,→OCLC,page122:
      The sledges of theEsquimaux are of large size, varying from six and a half to nine and even eleven feet in length, and from eighteeninches to two feet in breadth.
    • 1939, The Department of Education ofInternational Business Machines Corporation, chapter I, inPrecision Measurement in the Metal Working Industry‎[2], first paperback binding edition, Syracuse, N.Y.: Syracuse University Press, published1978,→ISBN,→OCLC,page 1:
      The term "precision measurement"[…] refers to the art of reproducing and controlling dimensions expressed in thousandths of aninch or smaller.
    • 1952 July, W. R. Watson, “Sankey Viaduct and Embankment”, inRailway Magazine, page487:
      He describes the operation thus: "The heavy ram employed to impart the finishing strokes, hoisted up with double purchase and snail's pace to the summit of the Piling Engine, and then falling down like a thunderbolt on the head of the devoted timber, driving it perhaps a single halfinch in to the stratum below, is well calculated to put to the test the virtue of patience, while it illustrates the old adage of—slow and sure."
  2. (figuratively) Anyveryshortdistance.
    Don't move aninch!
    • 1591 (date written),William Shakespeare, “The Second Part of Henry the Sixt, […]”, inMr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies. […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, andEd[ward] Blount, published1623,→OCLC,[Act I, scene iv]:
      Beldame, I think we watched you at aninch.
    • 1840, Lewis Rose, chapter III, inAn Humble Attempt to Put an End to the Present Divisions in the Church of Scotland, and to Promote Her Usefulness. […] ‎[3], Glasgow: George Gallie,→OCLC,page51:
      [B]e the consequences what they may, they shall not move aninch, nor a hair's-breadth from the ground of their groundless spiritual independence,[…]
  3. Any ofvarioussimilarunits oflength inothertraditionalsystems ofmeasurement.
  4. (meteorology) Adepth of one inch on theground,used as ameasurement ofrainfall.
    • 1880,Arthur Herbert Church,Food: Some Account of Its Sources, Constituents and Uses‎[4], London: Chapman and Hall,page14:
      Let us consider what oneinch of rain really means. If an acre of land were covered with water to the depth of only the tenth part of aninch, that layer of water would weigh more than 10 tons: thus 1inch of rain is ten times that amount—in fact, very nearly 101 tons.
  5. Adepth of one inch in aglass,used as aroughmeasurement ofalcoholicbeverages.
Derived terms
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Descendants
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Translations
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English unit of length and traditional equivalents
unspecified but very short distance

Verb

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inch (third-person singular simple presentinches,present participleinching,simple past and past participleinched)

  1. (intransitive, followed by a preposition) Toadvance veryslowly, or by a small amount (in a particular direction).
    Fearful of falling, heinched along the window ledge.
    • 1951 October, “London Transport Battery Locomotives”, inRailway Magazine, page659:
      On reaching the section under construction they must be capable ofinching the train forward on rough track up gradients as steep as 1 in 30.
    • 1957,J. D. Salinger, “Zooey”, inFranny and Zooey, published1961:
      The window blind had been lowered — Zooey had done all his bathtub reading by the light from the three-bulb overhead fixture—but a fraction of morning lightinched under the blind and onto the title page of the manuscript.
    • 2012 May 9, John Percy, “Birmingham City 2 Blackpool 2 (2-3 on agg): match report”, inthe Telegraph‎[5]:
      Already guarding a 1-0 lead from the first leg, Blackpoolinched further ahead whenStephen Dobbie scored from an acute angle on the stroke of half-time. The game appeared to be completely beyond Birmingham’s reach three minutes into the second period whenMatt Phillips reacted quickly to bundle the ball pastColin Doyle and off a post.
  2. To drive by inches, or small degrees.
    • 1692,John Dryden,Cleomenes, the Spartan Hero, a Tragedy:
      He gets too far into the soldier's grace / Andinches out my master.
  3. To deal out by inches; to give sparingly.
Derived terms
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Translations
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to move very slowly

See also

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Etymology 2

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FromScotsinch, fromScottish Gaelicinnis.

Noun

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inch (pluralinches)

  2. (Scotland, Ireland) A smallisland; anislet.
  4. (Scotland, Ireland) Ameadow,pasture,field, orhaugh.
    • 1988,Alice Taylor,To School Through the Fields: An Irish Country Childhood, Brandon Ltd,→ISBN, page 6:
      An ivy-clad farmhouse surrounded by trees, it stood on the sunny side of a sloping hill at the foot of which the Darigle river curved its way through gold-furzedinches to disappear under a stone bridge into the woods beyond.
    • 1988,Alice Taylor,To School Through the Fields: An Irish Country Childhood, Brandon Ltd,→ISBN, page22:
      As these calves grew older they did not need to return to the farmyard for feeding as they were able to eat sufficient grass for themselves. They were then kept in the fields, known as theinches, along by the river[,] where they grew strong[,] and during the winter cold when grass was scarce[,] hay was carried down to them.
Usage notes
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Derived terms
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Etymology 3

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Semantic loan fromCantonese寸(cyun3,“inch”), which is an alternative form of串(cyun3,“cocky; to provoke; etc.”).

Adjective

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inch

  1. (Hong Kong, colloquial)cocky andcheeky
    • 1994 May 29, Albert Ng,soc.culture.hongkong‎[6] (Usenet):
      I still remember Donald Duck sit next to him after NG dog being 'Done'd to F.2 building... he is still veryInch in Year 1983-4 teaching me RS
    • 2006 June 12, killgirl,OpenRice‎[7]:
      The service was professional but very "inch". We were served by a Cantonese speaking local. The waiter asked if we wanted water without telling us it costs $75 for just water!!
Synonyms
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Verb

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inch (third-person singular simple presentinches,present participleinching,simple past and past participleinched)

  1. (Hong Kong, colloquial) toburn(to insult); tospeak in acocky andcheeky manner
    • 1994 March 4, tp...@vmsb.is.csupomona.edu,soc.culture.hongkong.entertainment‎[8] (Usenet):
      Sorry for changing the intention of the post last time; it was for nothing but the personal joy and satisfaction of "inch"-ing the person who criticized my writing while he/she can't even write. (no hard feelings, alright?!) I'd avoid that in the future. I'll try to make this a constructive discussion and be as objective as possible.

References

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Anagrams

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Middle English

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Noun

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inch

  1. Alternative form ofynche

Romanian

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Etymology

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Unadapted borrowing fromEnglishinch.

Noun

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inch m (pluralinchi)

  1. inch
    Synonym:țol

Declension

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Declension ofinch
singularplural
indefinitedefiniteindefinitedefinite
nominative-accusativeinchinchulinchiinchii
genitive-dativeinchinchuluiinchiinchilor
vocativeinchuleinchilor
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