Tink

Part of speech: verb

Pronunciation: /tɪŋk/

Definitions

1. A light, high-pitched noise occurring when small entities make contact with one another
2. A faint ringing noise produced by tiny metallic objects striking each other
3. A soft, sharp ping heard when small pieces of metal gently collide

Etymology: The verb "tink" is an imitative word, meaning its sound was shaped to resemble the noise it describes. Middle English had "tinken" for a bell's ringing or a sharp metallic chime, and it probably came from an Old English form that was reconstructed as "tincian." Its relatives include the Dutch "tinken," used of a clock striking the hour, and the German dialect "tinken," used of metal ringing. English also has the similar "ting," so "tink" belongs to a family of bright, metallic sounds in the Germanic languages. The word's most curious feature is its spelling trick: "tink" is "knit" spelled backwards, a coincidence noticed by word-puzzle enthusiasts and not a real link in the word's history. A quieter connection is that "tink" is also a shortening of "tinker," the old word for a mender of pots and pans, whose trade involved tapping metal and making it ring.

Synonyms: jingle, ring, tinkle, clink, chime

Antonyms: silence, muffle, quiet, dampen, still