lin

lin · verb¹

1. Proto-Indo-European · derived from*ley-“to elude, avoid, shrink from”
2. Proto-Germanic · inherited from*linnaną“to turn, move aside, avoid”
3. Proto-West Germanic · inherited from*linnan
4. Old English · inherited fromlinnan“to cease from, desist, lose, yield up”
5. Middle English · inherited fromlinnen
6. English todaylin

From Middle English linnen, from Old English linnan (“to cease from, desist, lose, yield up”), from Proto-West Germanic *linnan, from Proto-Germanic *linnaną (“to turn, move aside, avoid”), from Proto-Indo-European *ley- (“to elude, avoid, shrink from”). Cognate with Danish linne (“to stop, rest”), dialectal Swedish linna (“to pause, rest”), Icelandic linna (“to stop, rest”).

lin · noun²

See English linn.

lin · noun³

1. Old English · inherited fromlīn“flax, linen, cloth”
2. Middle English · inherited fromlin
3. English todaylin

From Middle English lin, from Old English līn (“flax, linen, cloth”). For more information, see the entry linen, lint.

Lin · proper noun⁴

1. hsn · borrowed from林
2. Wu · borrowed from林
3. gan · borrowed from林
4. Mandarin · borrowed from林
5. English todayLin

From Chinese: compare Mandarin 林 (lín), Gan 林 (lin⁴), Wu 林, Xiang 林 (lin²). 林 itself is composed of a reduplication of 木 (“wood, tree”). Literally, “forest”.

Lin · proper noun⁵

From Mandarin 臨／临 (Lín).

Words from the same roots