Etymology
From Middle English ynche, enche, from Old English ynċe, from Latin uncia (“Roman inch, various similar units”), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *óynos (“one”). Cognate with Middle Dutch enke (“thumb, thumb's width, inch”). Doublet of a, one, ounce, uncia, onça, onza, oka, ouguiya, and awqiyyah.
Noun
inch (plural inches)
- A unit of length equal to one-twelfth of a foot and equivalent to exactly 2.54 centimeters, roughly the width of a thumb.
- (figuratively) A very short distance.
- Don't move an inch!
- (meteorology) The amount of water which would cover a surface to the depth of an inch, used as a measurement of rainfall.
- A depth of one inch in a glass, used as a rough measurement of alcoholic beverages.
Verb
inch (third-person singular simple present inches, present participle inching, simple past and past participle inched)
- (intransitive, followed by a preposition) To advance very slowly, or by a small amount (in a particular direction)
- Fearful of falling, he inched along the window ledge.
Credits
New World Encyclopedia writers and editors copied and adjusted this Wiktionary entry in accordance with NWE standards. This article abides by terms of the Creative Commons CC-by-sa 3.0 License (CC-by-sa), which may be used and disseminated with proper attribution. Credit for this article is due to both New World Encyclopedia contributors and the selfless volunteer contributors of the Wikimedia Foundation. To cite this article click here for a list acceptable citing formats.The history of earlier contributions at Wiktionary is accessible to researchers here:
