Hint

Part of speech: noun, verb

Pronunciation: /hɪnt/

Definitions

1. A subtle indication or suggestion designed to encourage someone to make a realization or reach a conclusion
2. A clue or suggestion meant to lead someone toward a realization or understanding is often subtle and indirect
3. A slight or indirect sign intended to help someone understand or become aware of something

Etymology: The noun "hint" started out as a verb meaning to seize or grasp something. Its Middle English ancestor "hinten" was a variant of "henten," which came from Old English "hentan," meaning to take hold of or catch. So the original sense was physical: a hand closing around an object. The shift to "a small indirect sign" happened through the idea of grasping at something, or catching hold of a notion. A hint is a faint clue you have to seize on in order to understand. The verb sense of hinting, meaning to suggest something indirectly, developed from that same notion of reaching toward an idea without stating it outright. "Hint" is a doublet of "hent," which is also a survivor of that old Old English verb, kept in English alongside its sibling in a slightly different form. The word is also related to "hunt," which shares the same Germanic root meaning to seize or pursue.

Synonyms: clue, suggestion, indication

Antonyms: bluntness, directness