Word: chin Part of Speech: verb Etymology: From Middle English chyn, from Old English ċinn (“chin”), from Proto-West Germanic *kinnu, from Proto-Germanic *kinnuz (“chin”), from Proto-Indo-European *ǵénus (“chin, jaw”). Compare West Frisian/Dutch kin, Low German/German Kinn, Danish kind, Icelandic kinn, Welsh gen, Latin gena, Tocharian A śanweṃ, Ancient Greek γένυς (génus, “jaw”), Armenian ծնոտ (cnot), Persian چانه (čâne), Sanskrit हनु (hánu). Doublet of gena. Pronunciation: /ˈt͡ʃɪn/, [ˈt͡ʃʰɪn] 1. To talk. Labels: dated, intransitive, slang Example: “I reckon you can explain, Mrs. Peabody.” […] “An’ I reckon that newcomer you’ve been chinning with could explain if he had a mind to.” Example: This little chore involved getting up at 3 A.M., working about two hours, then sitting around chinning and drinking coffee with the radio operators until too late to go back to sleep. 2. To talk to or with (someone). Labels: dated, slang, transitive Example: “Been up chinning your sporting editor, Ragsy Hurd. […]” Example: “What do you suppose that Seagreave’s chinning Hughie about[?]” 3. To perform a chin-up (exercise in which one lifts one's own weight while hanging from a bar). Labels: intransitive, reflexive Example: It is worth noting that on the eighth day he was strong enough to “chin” himself six times in succession, though previous to the fasting treatment he had never in his life been able to do this more than once or twice. Example: A description of the cour would be incomplete without an enumeration of the manifold duties of the planton in charge, which were as follows: to prevent the men from using the horizontal bar, except for chinning, since if you swung yourself upon it you could look over the wall into the women’s cour […] 4. To punch or hit (someone), especially on the chin (part of the body). Labels: UK, transitive Example: He told me once that he used to be scared to death every time he started in a hard game for fear he’d get badly injured. Said it wasn’t until someone had jabbed him in the nose or ‘chinned’ him that he forgot to be scared. Example: ‘I’m in trouble, I hit a policeman—chinned him. He was messin’ me about, pushin’ me around on the pavement, so I chinned him, didn’t I? […]’ 5. To put or hold (a musical instrument) up to one's chin. Labels: transitive Example: Conspicuous in the front rank of “the music” was Joe Lippett, chinning his fife […] Example: A comical fellow hopped down from a stump and chinned his fiddle while Prince Chang stared. 6. To turn on or operate (a device) using one's chin; to select (a particular setting) using one's chin. Labels: transitive Example: I was too tired to argue; I chinned the valve three or four times, felt a blast blistering my face. Example: I landed kind of sloppily on hands and knees and chinned the squad frequency. “First squad sound off!” 7. To put one's chin on (something). Labels: transitive Example: […] she elbowed the table and chinned her hand. Example: He chinned the alley fence and looked both ways along it. 8. To indicate or point toward (someone or something) with one's chin. Labels: transitive Example: But you don’t love him, said Madame Sonia with understanding. Do you love this one? Madame Sonia chinned the American. Example: A wry laugh bubbled up Carmen's throat as she turned to Blanca. "You brought us here to read?" "Try," Blanca said, chinning at the tome. […] Carmen glanced up between them and then chinned at the bathroom.