hint - Wiktionary, the free dictionary (original) (raw)

From Wiktionary, the free dictionary

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.

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

clue — see also clue

tacit suggestion

tiny amount — see also trace

Translations to be checked

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.

express suggestively

develop and add hints to a font

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.)

From English hint.

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

  1. hint, clue

See the etymology of the corresponding lemma form.

hint

  1. neuter singular of hin

Borrowing from English hint.

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

  1. hint

hint

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

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]

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.

(With verbal prefixes):

  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.

From English hint.

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

  1. a hint
    • 2014, Sylvia Day, Grepet av deg‎[1], 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.

From English hint.

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

  1. a hint

From Middle English hunten, from Old English huntian.

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.