inch

英文词源

inch

inch: [OE] Inch and ounce both mean etymologically ‘one twelfth’, but while this ancestral sense has largely been lost sight of in the case of ounce, for inch it remains in force. The words’ common ancestor is Latin uncia, a term for a ‘twelfth part’ derived from unus ‘one’. This was borrowed into prehistoric Germanic as *ungkja, but it has not survived in any other Germanic language but English.
=> one, ounce

inch (n.1)

"linear measure, one-twelfth of a foot," late Old English ynce, Middle English unche (current spelling c. 1300), from Latin uncia "a twelfth part," from root of unus "one" (see one). An early borrowing from Latin, not found in any other Germanic language. Transferred and figurative sense of "a very small amount" is attested from mid-14c. For phrase give him an inch ... see ell.

inch (n.2)

"small Scottish island," early 15c., from Gaelic innis (genitive innse) "island, land by a river," from Celtic *inissi (cognates: Old Irish inis, Welsh ynys, Breton enez).

inch (v.)

"move little by little," 1590s, from inch (n.1). Related: Inched; inching.