Where does “chink” come from?
Chink comes from Middle English chine, Old English ċine, Proto-Germanic kinō, and Proto-Indo-European ǵi-n-, ultimately from the root ǵey-.
chink (English): A narrow opening such as a fissure or crack; A...
Definitions
- A narrow opening such as a fissure or crack; A...
Ancestry of “chink”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|
| 1 | Middle English | chine | — |
| 2 | Old English | ċine | a crack, chine, chink |
| 3 | Swahili | kinu | mortar |
| 4 | Proto-Germanic | kinō | A split; crack; A germ; sprout |
| 5 | Proto-Indo-European | ǵi-n- | — |
| 6 | Proto-Indo-European | ǵey- | to split; divide; germinate; sprout; to split;... |
Words derived from “chink”