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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.)
Examples of inkling in a Sentence
Christopher Cruz, Rolling Stone, 4 Mar. 2025
There hasn’t previously been an inkling of doubt from the Bengals’ side that Chase’s deal would get done.
—Paul Dehner Jr., The Athletic, 26 Feb. 2025
With no inkling of what his prize was worth, the lottery player’s family tagged along with him to Grand Junction to claim his prize, lottery officials said.
—Daniella Segura, Sacramento Bee, 25 Feb. 2025
This gave the scientist the inkling that evolution could take different paths of speciation depending on an island’s unique conditions.
—Eli Wizevich, Smithsonian Magazine, 27 Dec. 2024
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Cite this Entry
“Inkling.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/inkling. Accessed 15 Mar. 2025.
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