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  1. inkling love

Definitions

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition

  1. n. A slight hint or indication.
  2. n. A slight understanding or vague idea or notion.

Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia

  1. n. A hint; an intimation; a slight or imperfect idea or notion.
  2. n. Inclination; desire.

Wiktionary

  1. n. A slight suspicion or hint.
  2. n. dialect Inclination, desire.
  3. v. present participle of inkle.

GNU Webster's 1913

  1. n. A hint; an intimation.

WordNet 3.0

  1. n. a slight suggestion or vague understanding

Etymologies

  1. From Middle English, from inklen, inclen ("to give an inkling of, hint at, mention, utter in an undertone"), from inke ("apprehension, misgiving"), from Old English inca ("doubt, suspicion"), from Proto-Germanic *inkô (“ache, regret”), from Proto-Indo-European *yenǵ- (“illness”). Cognate with Old Frisian jinc ("angered"), Old Norse ekki ("pain, grief"), Norwegian ekkje ("lack, pity"). (Wiktionary)
  2. Probably alteration of Middle English (a) ningkiling, (a) hint, suggestion, possibly alteration of nikking, from nikken, to mark a text for correction, from nik, notch, tally, perhaps from variant of Old French niche, niche; see niche. (American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition)

Examples

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Lists

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  • fbharjo see first comment in this grouping Mar 27, 2012

  • Louises The first inkling of animal clarity was already there, a kind of vicious joy in the power that would come. From "The Last Werewolf" by Glen Duncan.
    Mar 27, 2012

  • bilby See ninkling. Oct 3, 2008

  • vanishedone In the English translation of Haruki Murakami's Hard-Boiled Wonderland and the End of the World, INKlings are 'Infra-Nocturnal Kappa'. From 'The Use of Certain Fantastic Concepts in the Fiction of Murakami Haruki' (PDF):

    '...a subterranean labyrinth underneath Tokyo which is inhabited by creatures called yamikuro (an invented word which might be rendered "Darkling")... In this I concur with Susan Napier's suggestion, rather than Birnbaum's acronymic "INKlings", or "infra-nocturnal Kappa", which is entirely his own invention, the need for which is not readily apparent.' Nov 3, 2007

  • uselessness If I could be part of any "secret society" or somesuch legendary thing, I would join the Inklings. Oct 12, 2007

  • fbharjo a group at Oxford in the early 20th century with such members as c.s. lewis, owen barfield, J R tolkien ..... who are both prophets and smudge pots... who both had clear and smudge thought were called the "Inklings"...did they have a clue of their impact??????? Oct 12, 2007

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‘inkling’ has been looked up 3259 times, loved by 10 people, added to 65 lists, commented on 6 times, and has a Scrabble score of 12.