hint
noun
- part of an SQL query
- clue, suggestion
verb
- say, giving a clue, suggesting
Wiktionary
Pronunciation: /hɪnt/
intj
Etymology: From Middle English hinten, hynten, variant of henten (“to lay hold of, catch”), from Old English hentan (“to seize, grasp”), from Proto-West Germanic *hantijan, from Proto-Germanic *hantijaną. Doublet of hent. Related also to hunt.
- Signifies that something previously said should be taken as a hint or heeded closely.
“And yes, as long as you are being a good coder and engaging in safe practices, nothing should go wrong. (Hint, hint.)”
noun
Etymology: From Middle English hinten, hynten, variant of henten (“to lay hold of, catch”), from Old English hentan (“to seize, grasp”), from Proto-West Germanic *hantijan, from Proto-Germanic *hantijaną. Doublet of hent. Related also to hunt.
- A clue.
“I needed a hint to complete the crossword.”
- An implicit suggestion that avoids a direct statement.
“He gave me a hint that my breath smelt.”
- A small, barely detectable amount.
“There was a hint of irony in his voice.”
“I could taste a hint of lemon in my iced water.”
- Information in a computer-based font that suggests how the outlines of the font's glyphs should be distorted in order to produce, at specific sizes, a visually appealing pixel-based rendering; an instance of hinting.
“This font does not scale well to small sizes; the hints for the 10-point letter 'g' still need work.”
- An instruction to the database engine as to how a query should be executed, for example whether to use an index or not.
- An opportunity; occasion; fit time.
“I, not remembering how I cried out then, / Will cry it o'er again: it is a hint / That wrings mine eyes to't.”
verb
Etymology: From Middle English hinten, hynten, variant of henten (“to lay hold of, catch”), from Old English hentan (“to seize, grasp”), from Proto-West Germanic *hantijan, from Proto-Germanic *hantijaną. Doublet of hent. Related also to hunt.
- To imply without a direct statement; to provide a clue.
“She hinted at the possibility of a recount of the votes.”
“I have tried, as I hinted, to enlist the co-operation of other capitalists, but experience has taught me that any appeal is futile that does not impinge directly upon cupidity.”
- To bring to mind by a slight mention or remote allusion; to suggest in an indirect manner.
“to hint a suspicion”
“VVilling to vvound, and yet afraid to ſtrike, / Juſt hint a fault and heſitate diſlike; […]”
- To develop and add hints to a font.
“The typographer worked all day on hinting her new font so it would look good on computer screens.”