inkling

<font size="-1" face="arial, helvetica"> <p> <strong> <font color="#000066">Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for August 18, 2023 is:</font> </strong> </p> <p> <strong>inkling</strong> &#149; \INK-ling\&nbsp; &#149; <em>noun</em><br /> <p><em>Inkling</em> refers to a slight, uncertain idea about something, or to a slight amount of knowledge about something.</p> <p>// As the professor explained the complex math formula in class, I didn’t have an <em>inkling</em> of what it all meant.</p> <p><a href="https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/inkling">See the entry ></a></p> </p> <p> <strong>Examples:</strong><br /> <p>“It was in Jim [Melchert]’s class that I first felt the <em>inkling</em> that there was more to being an artist than simply expressing yourself. It was also about paying attention—looking closely and curiously—and being open to where it might take you.” — Sharon Mizota, <em>The Los Angeles Times</em>, 5 June 2023 </p> </p> <p> <strong>Did you know?</strong><br /> <p>This may come as a surprise, but <em>inkling</em> has not a drop to do with <a href="https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/ink">ink</a>, whether of squid, tattoo, or any other variety. Originating in English in the early 16th century, <em>inkling</em> comes instead from Middle English <em>yngkiling</em>, meaning “whisper or mention,” and perhaps further back from the verb <em>inclen</em>, meaning “to hint at.” An early sense of the word meant “a faint perceptible sound or undertone” or “rumor,” but now people usually use the word to refer to a vague notion someone has (“had an inkling they would be there”), or to a hint of something present (“a conversation with not even an inkling of anger”). One related word you might not have heard of is the rare verb <em>inkle</em>, a <a href="https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/back-formation">back-formation</a> of <em>inkling</em> that in some British English dialects can mean “to utter or communicate in an undertone or whisp