there was no path—no inkling even of a track—New Yorker
Did you know?
This may come as a surprise, but inkling has not a drop to do with ink, whether of squid, tattoo, or any other variety. Originating in English in the early 16th century, inkling comes instead from Middle English yngkiling, meaning “whisper or mention,” and perhaps further back from the verb inclen, meaning “to hint at.” An early sense of the word meant “a faint perceptible sound or undertone” or “rumor,” but now people usually use the word to refer to a vague notion someone has (“had an inkling they would be there”), or to a hint of something present (“a conversation with not even an inkling of anger”). One related word you might not have heard of is the rare verb inkle, a back-formation of inkling that in some British English dialects can mean “to utter or communicate in an undertone or whisper, to hint, give a hint of” or “to have an idea or notion of.” (Inkle is also a noun referring to “a colored linen tape or braid woven on a very narrow loom and used for trimming” but etymologists don’t have an inkling of where that inkle came from.)
did not give the slightest inkling that he was planning to quit
Recent Examples on the WebMoney that was meant to go toward her presidential run was instead spent on the campaign’s of old political grandees looking to preserve any inkling of their past power.—Alex González Ormerod, TIME, 30 May 2024 Each inkling of Brown’s onslaught seemingly responded to each whiff of Huskies momentum.—Sam Cohn, Baltimore Sun, 30 Apr. 2024 Editor’s picks All this is to say that when the first inklings of a Hades II appeared online in late 2022, the response was electric.—Nikki McCann Ramirez, Rolling Stone, 9 May 2024 Three kids would be really rough, but there’s always that little inkling.—Amber Ferguson, Washington Post, 15 Mar. 2024 See all Example Sentences for inkling
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'inkling.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Word History
Etymology
Middle English yngkiling whisper, mention, probably from inclen to hint at; akin to Old English inca suspicion
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