pin
pronunciation
How to pronounce pin in British English:
UK [pɪn]
How to pronounce pin in American English:
US [pɪn]
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- Noun:
- a piece of jewelry that is pinned onto the wearer's garment
- when a wrestler's shoulders are forced to the mat
- small markers inserted into a surface to mark scores or define locations etc.
- informal terms of the leg
- axis consisting of a short shaft that supports something that turns
- cylindrical tumblers consisting of two parts that are held in place by springs; when they are aligned with a key the bolt can be thrown
- flagpole used to mark the position of the hole on a golf green
- a small slender (often pointed) piece of wood or metal used to support or fasten or attach things
- a holder attached to the gunwale of a boat that holds the oar in place and acts as a fulcrum for rowing
- a club-shaped wooden object used in bowling; set up in groups as a target
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- Verb:
- to hold fast or prevent from moving
- attach or fasten with pins
- pierce with a pin
- immobilize a piece
Word Origin
- pin
- pin: [OE] Latin pinna (a probable relative of English fin) meant ‘wing, feather, pointed peak’. Amongst its derivatives were the diminutive pinnāculum, which has given English pinnacle [14] and, via French, panache [16] (which originally meant ‘plume of feathers’), pinnātus ‘feathered, winged’, source of English pinnate [18], and Vulgar Latin *pinniō, from which English gets pinion ‘wing’ [15]. Pinna itself was borrowed into Old English as pinn, and it was used for ‘peg’ (a sense which survives in various technical contexts); the application to a ‘small thin metal fastener’ did not emerge until the 14th century.A pinafore [18] is etymologically a garment that is ‘pinned afore’, that is, ‘pinned to the front of a dress to protect it’.=> fin, panache, pinafore, pinion, pinnacle
- pin (n.)
- late Old English pinn "peg, bolt," from Proto-Germanic *penn- "jutting point or peak" (cognates: Old Saxon pin "peg," Old Norse pinni "peg, tack," Middle Dutch pin "pin, peg," Old High German pfinn, German Pinne "pin, tack") from Latin pinna "a feather, plume;" in plural "a wing;" also "fin, scoop of a water wheel;" also "a pinnacle; a promontory, cape; battlement" (as in Luke iv:9 in Vulgate) and so applied to "points" of various sorts, from PIE *pet- (see pen (n.1)). Latin pinna and penna "a feather, plume," in plural "a wing," are treated as identical in Watkins, etc., but regarded as separate (but confused) Latin words by Tucker and others, who derive pinna from PIE *spei- "sharp point" (see spike (n.1)) and see the "feather/wing" sense as secondary. The modern slender wire pin is first attested by this name late 14c. Transferred sense of "leg" is recorded from 1520s and hold the older sense. Pin-money "annual sum allotted to a woman for personal expenses on dress, etc." is attested from 1620s. Pins and needles "tingling sensation" is from 1810. The sound of a pin dropping as a type of something all but silent is from 1775.
- PIN
- acronym for personal identification number, 1981, from the first reference used with redundant number.
- pin (v.)
- mid-14c., "to affix with a pin," from pin (n.). Figurative use from 1570s. Related: Pinned; pinning. Sense of "to hold someone or something down so he or it cannot escape" is attested from 1740. In U.S., as a reference to the bestowal of a fraternity pin on a female student as an indication of a relationship, it is attested by 1938. Phrase pin down "define" is from 1951.
Example
- 1. Pin these three pieces together .
- 2. Adam smith marvelled at the resulting efficiency in his description of a pin factory .
- 3. A safety pin is male - it is often useful in an emergency .
- 4. Caution when handling the sharp pin.why do you think it is important to use something as small as a pin for this ?
- 5. Let 's pin the notice on the bulletin board .