Where does “inkling” come from?
I cannot write this etymology in good faith. The chain provided contains fundamental problems that make it impossible to produce an accurate sentence:
1. **Broken chain logic**: The chain ends with "Proto-Indo-European ne" (a particle/negation), which doesn't connect semantically or phonetically to the rest of the chain.
2. **Greek anomaly**: Ancient Greek ἄγγελος (aggelos, "messenger") has no clear connection to Latin *linea* ("line") and doesn't fit the phonetic progression of the other terms.
3. **Unknown meaning**: You've noted the meaning of "inkling" is unknown, yet you're asking me to "weave in the oldest one to explain the sense development"—impossible without a known meaning.
4. **Suspect source chain**: The progression from "inkle" → "ingle" → "lingel" appears speculative and isn't standard in major
inkling (English): "Usually preceded by forms of" to give: a slight...
Definitions
- "Usually preceded by forms of" to give: a slight...
Ancestry of “inkling”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|
| 1 | Middle English | ningkiling | — |
| 2 | Middle English | inklen | to mention ; to tell |
| 3 | Middle English | inke | apprehension, misgiving; dread, fear; doubt;... |
| 4 | Old English | inca | doubt, uncertainty, question, suspicion, fear;... |
| 5 | Proto-Germanic | inkô | grief, ache, regret |
| 6 | Proto-Indo-European | yenǵ- | illness |