hint
Part of speech: noun
verb
intj
Morphological type: simple
Topics: computing
databases
engineering
mathematics
natural-sciences
physical-sciences
sciences
Etymology: 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.
Inflected forms:
form: hints
pos: noun
tags: plural
form: hints
pos: verb
tags: present
singular
third-person
form: hinting
pos: verb
tags: participle
present
form: hinted
pos: verb
tags: participle
past
form: hinted
pos: verb
tags: past
Senses:
gloss: A clue.
pos: noun
examples: I needed a hint to complete the crossword.
gloss: An implicit suggestion that avoids a direct statement.
pos: noun
examples: He gave me a hint that my breath smelt.
gloss: A small, barely detectable amount.
pos: noun
examples: There was a hint of irony in his voice.
I could taste a hint of lemon in my iced water.
And I perceived no touch of change,
⁠No hint of death in all his frame,
⁠But found him all in all the same, […]
Mother very rightly resented the slightest hint of condescension. She considered that the exclusiveness of Peter's circle was due not to its distinction, but to the fact that it was an inner Babylon of prodigality and whoredom,[…].
gloss: 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.
pos: noun
examples: This font does not scale well to small sizes; the hints for the 10-point letter 'g' still need work.
gloss: An instruction to the database engine as to how a query should be executed, for example whether to use an index or not.
pos: noun
gloss: An opportunity; occasion; fit time.
pos: noun
tags: obsolete
examples: I, not remembering how I cried out then, / Will cry it o'er again: it is a hint / That wrings mine eyes to't.
gloss: To imply without a direct statement; to provide a clue.
pos: verb
tags: intransitive
examples: She hinted at the possibility of a recount of the votes.
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.
gloss: To bring to mind by a slight mention or remote allusion; to suggest in an indirect manner.
pos: verb
tags: transitive
examples: to hint a suspicion
VVilling to vvound, and yet afraid to ſtrike, / Juſt hint a fault and heſitate diſlike; […]
We shall not describe this tragical scene too fully; but we thought ourselves obliged, by that historic integrity which we profess, shortly to hint a matter which we would otherwise have been glad to have spared.
gloss: To develop and add hints to a font.
pos: verb
tags: transitive
examples: The typographer worked all day on hinting her new font so it would look good on computer screens.
gloss: Signifies that something previously said should be taken as a hint or heeded closely.
pos: intj
tags: often
reduplication
examples: And yes, as long as you are being a good coder and engaging in safe practices, nothing should go wrong. (Hint, hint.)
Derived words: broad hint
drop a hint
get the hint
hintline
Irish hint
take a hint
take the hint
type hint
hintable
hinted
hinter
hintingly
Translations: