pin

Etymology

From Middle English pinne, from Old English pinn (“pin, peg, bolt”), from Proto-Germanic *pinnaz, *pinnō, *pint- (“protruding point, peak, peg, pin, nail”), from Proto-Indo-European *bend- (“protruding object, pointed peg, nail, edge”). Cognate with Dutch pin (“peg, pin”), Low German pin, pinne (“pin, point, nail, peg”), German Pinn, Pinne (“pin, tack, peg”), Bavarian Pfonzer, Pfunzer (“sharpened point”), Danish pind (“pin, pointed stick”), Norwegian pinn (“knitting-needle”), Swedish pinne (“peg, rod, stick”), Icelandic pinni (“pin”). More at pintle.

No relation to classical Latin pinna (“fin, flipper, wing-like appendage, wing, feather”), which was extended to mean "ridge, peak, point" (compare pinnacle), and often confused with Latin penna (“wing, feather”). More at feather.

Pronunciation

• enPR: pĭn, IPA^(key): /pɪn/, [pʰɪn]

• Audio (CA)

  (file)

• Audio (US)

  (file)

• Rhymes: -ɪn
• Homophone: pen (pin-pen merger)

Noun

pin (plural pins)

1. A sewing pin, sometimes called a ballhead pin, which is a needle without an eye (usually) made of drawn-out steel wire with one end sharpened and the other flattened or rounded into a head, used for fastening.
   • Milton

     With pins of adamant / And chains they made all fast.

2. A small nail with a head and a sharp point.
3. A cylinder often of wood or metal used to fasten or as a bearing between two parts.

   Pull the pin out of the grenade before throwing it at the enemy.

4. (wrestling) The victory condition of holding the opponent's shoulders on the wrestling mat for a prescribed period of time.
5. A slender object specially designed for use in a specific game or sport, such as skittles or bowling.
6. (in plural pins; informal) A leg.

   I'm not so good on my pins these days.

7. (electricity) Any of the individual connecting elements of a multipole electrical connector.

   The UK standard connector for domestic mains electricity has three pins.

8. A piece of jewellery that is attached to clothing with a pin.
9. (US) A simple accessory that can be attached to clothing with a pin or fastener, often round and bearing a design, logo or message, and used for decoration, identification or to show political affiliation, etc.
10. (chess) A scenario in which moving a lesser piece to escape from attack would expose a more valuable piece to attack.
11. (golf) The flagstick: the flag-bearing pole which marks the location of a hole
12. (curling) The spot at the exact centre of the house (the target area)

    The shot landed right on the pin.

    • Shakespeare

      the very pin of his heart cleft

13. (dated) A mood, a state of being.
    • Cowper

      a merry pin

14. One of a row of pegs in the side of an ancient drinking cup to mark how much each person should drink.
15. (medicine, obsolete) caligo

    (Can we find and add a quotation of Shakespeare to this entry?)

16. A thing of small value; a trifle.
    • Spectator

      He […] did not care a pin for her.

17. A peg in musical instruments for increasing or relaxing the tension of the strings.
18. (engineering) A short shaft, sometimes forming a bolt, a part of which serves as a journal.
19. The tenon of a dovetail joint.
20. (Britain, brewing) A size of brewery cask, equal to half a firkin, or eighth of a barrel.
21. (informal) A pinball machine.

    I spent most of my time in the arcade playing pins.

Verb

pin (third-person singular simple present pins, present participle pinning, simple past and past participle pinned)

1. (often followed by a preposition such as to or on) To fasten or attach (something) with a pin.
2. (chess, usually passive) To cause (a piece) to be in a pin.
3. (wrestling) To pin down (someone).
4. To enclose; to confine; to pen; to pound.
5. (computing, graphical user interface) To attach (an icon, application, etc.) to another item.

   to pin a window to the Taskbar

6. Alternative form of peen

Anagrams

• NIP, NPI, Nip, nip

Pronunciation

• (Balearic, Central, Valencian) IPA^(key): /ˈpin/

Noun

pin m (plural pins)

1. (electronics) lead
2. pin (ornament)

Adjective

pin

1. holy

Noun

pin f (singulative pinen)

1. pines

Verb

pin

1. imperative of pine

Pronunciation

• Audio

  (file)

• Rhymes: -ɪn
• IPA^(key): /pɪn/

Noun

pin f (plural pinnen, diminutive pinnetje n)

1. peg, pin

Verb

pin

1. first-person singular present indicative of pinnen
2. imperative of pinnen

Anagrams

• nip

Etymology

From Old French pin, from Latin pīnus, ultimately from a derivative of Proto-Indo-European *poi- (“sap, juice”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /pɛ̃/

• audio

  (file)

• Homophone: pain

Noun

pin m (plural pins)

1. pine, pine tree

Further reading

• “pin” in le Trésor de la langue française informatisé (The Digitized Treasury of the French Language).

Etymology

From Latin pīnus.

Noun

pin m (plural pins)

1. pine tree

Verb

pin

1. 2nd person singular present indicative form of pīt
2. 3rd person singular present indicative form of pīt
3. 3rd person plural present indicative form of pīt
4. 2nd person singular imperative form of pīt
5. (with the particle lai) 3rd person singular imperative form of pīt
6. (with the particle lai) 3rd person plural imperative form of pīt

Romanization

pin

1. Nonstandard spelling of pīn.
2. Nonstandard spelling of pín.
3. Nonstandard spelling of pǐn.
4. Nonstandard spelling of pìn.

Verb

pin (using Raguileo Alphabet)

1. To say
2. To tell (a story).
3. First-person singular realis mood form of pin.

Etymology

From Latin pīnus, ultimately from a derivative of Proto-Indo-European *poi- (“sap, juice”).

Noun

pin m (plural pini)

1. pine

Alternative forms

• (Rumantsch Grischun) pign
• (Sursilvan) pégn
• (Sutsilvan, Surmiran) pegn

Etymology

From Latin pīnus.

Noun

pin m

1. (Puter, Vallader) spruce, fir

Noun

pin

1. woman

References

• transnewguinea.org, citing D. C. Laycock, Languages of the Lumi Subdistrict (West Sepik District), New Guinea (1968), Oceanic Linguistics, 7 (1): 36-66

Noun

pin m (plural pines)

1. PIN, PIN number

Alternative forms

Etymology

Borrowed from Armenian բույն (buyn, “nest”) (from Western Armenian pronunciation).

Noun

pin (definite accusative pini, plural pinler)

1. (dialectal) coop for poultry

Etymology

Borrowed from French pile.

Pronunciation

• (Hà Nội) IPA^(key): [pin˧˧]
• (Huế) IPA^(key): [pin˧˧]
• (Hồ Chí Minh City) IPA^(key): [pɨ̞̠n˧˧]

Noun

(classifier cục) pin

1. battery

   Máy tao hết pin rồi.

   My phone is dead.

Etymology 1

From Latin pīnus (compare Middle Irish pín).

Etymology 2

From Latin penna, pinna (“feather, pen”).

Etymology 3

From Old English pinn.

Mutation

References

• “pin”, in Geiriadur Prifysgol Cymru Online (in Welsh), University of Wales Centre for Advanced Welsh & Celtic Studies, 2014

Etymology

From Proto-Oceanic *papine, from Proto-Austronesian *bahi (“woman”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /pɪn/

Noun

pin

1. woman