lint

lint · noun¹

1. Latin · derived fromlīnum“flax”
2. Medieval Latin · borrowed fromlinteum
3. Old French · derived fromlinette“grain of flax”
4. Middle English · inherited fromlynet
5. English todaylint

From Middle English lynet, linet, from Old French linette (“grain of flax”), diminutive of lin (“flax”); or, from Medieval Latin linteum, from Latin līnum (“flax”).

lint · verb²

From the lint Unix utility, written in 1979, which analyses programs written in the C language, itself named after the undesirable bits of fiber and fluff found in sheep's wool (see etymology 1).

Lint · proper noun³

* As an occupational English surname, from the noun lint, chiefly in the Scottish English sense "flax fibers for spinning." * As a Dutch surname, from several placenames with the element Lint, probably from linde (“lime tree”).

Words from the same roots