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Webster's Dictionary (1865)

4 entries under this word

Inch

Inch, n.

noun

(66), n. [A-S. ince, inch, indsa, ounce, from Lat. uncia, the twelfth part. See OUNCE.]

  1. A measure of length, the twelfth part of a foot, commonly subdivided either decimally, as for scientific purposes, or into eighths, sixteenths, &c., as among mechanics. It was also formerly divided into twelve parts, called lines, and originally into three parts, called barley-corns, its length being supposed to have been determined from three grains of barley placed end to end lengthwise.
  2. A small distance or degree, whether of time or space; hence, sometimes, a critical moment.

Bedame, I think we watched you at an inch. Shak. By inches, by slow degrees; gradually.—Inch of candle. See CANDLE.—Inch of water. See WATER-INCH.

Ĭnch, v. t.

verbtransitive

v. t. [imp. & p. p. INCHED (ĭncht); p. pr. & vb. n. INCHING.]

  1. To drive by inches, or small degrees. [Rare.]
  2. To deal out by inches; to give sparingly. [Rare.] Ainsworth.

Inch or Inched (Ĭncht), a.

adjective

a. Measuring an inch in any dimension, whether length, breadth, or thickness;—used in composition; as, a two-inch or four-inch cable.

Inch stuff, deal boards sawed one inch thick.

Ĭnch, n.

noun

n. [Gael. inis, Lat. insula.] An island;—often used in the names of small islands off the coast of Scotland, as in Inch-colm, Inch-keith, &c. [Scot.]