chink

chink · noun, verb¹

1. Old English · inherited fromċine“a crack, chine, chink”
2. Middle English · inherited fromchine
3. English todaychink

Of uncertain origin, but apparently an extension, with diminutive -k (see more at -ock), of Middle English chine (or, if already suffixed in Middle English, *chinek), from Old English ċine (“a crack, chine, chink”), equivalent to chine + -k.

chink · noun, verb²

Onomatopoeic.

Chink · noun, adjective, proper noun³

1. Mandarin · derived from請 /请“please”
2. English todayChink

There are several possible origins of the term: * From the Chinese courtesy ching-ching, a reduplication of Mandarin 請 /请 (qǐng, “please”). Compare chin-chin, Italian cincin, Portuguese tchim-tchim, tim-tim, Spanish chinchín, French tchin-tchin. * From the alteration of China. * From the alteration of Qing (also spelled Ch'ing). See also Hokkien 親家 /亲家 (chhin-ke, “any relative by marriage (to a Chinese family)”).

Words from the same roots