inkling
noun

- a feeling that something is true or likely to happen, although you are not certain

Cambridge Dictionary

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ORIGIN

Although it would be easy to have an inkling that this word has something to do with ink, there is no evidence that the two terms are even remotely connected.

Middle English had the word inkle for instance. It was a noun that referred to a linen tape or thread, as well as a verb meaning “to whisper”. It was this latter definition that led some linguists to speculate that inkling stems from the Middle English inkle, but there is no proof.

Herbert Coleridge, one of the founders of what became the Oxford Dictionary, thought that inkle sounded like the Old Icelandic ymta “to mutter”.

Others believe that inkling is from the French and English “inclination”, which refers to a feeling that you want to do (or prefer to do), a particular thing.

Still others think it resulted from the so-called false splitting of the Middle English ningkiling, which is the process of changing a word over time through pronunciation. In this case, the theory is that the “n” was eliminated.

All of this only proves that we haven’t the slightest inkling about the origin of the word inkling :-)

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THE PIZZA THAT CHANGED BALLISTICS

On a fateful night in 1969, Richard Davis loaded two large pepperoni and ham pizzas into his car for a delivery from his shop on Detroit's 7 Mile Road. As he drove through the darkening streets, a nagging suspicion took hold—the order matched exactly what had been requested weeks earlier when his fiancée was robbed at gunpoint. Despite his misgivings, Davis proceeded, driven by both professional obligation and perhaps a desire to confront those who had threatened someone he loved.

His intuition proved correct. Upon arrival, Davis found himself facing the same assailants who had robbed his fiancée. This time, however, the encounter escalated to violence. Davis was shot twice at close range in the ensuing confrontation but survived thanks partly to his combat training as a former Marine.

This harrowing experience transformed Davis's life. Realizing that standard police protection was insufficient for people in vulnerable positions, he began experimenting with bulletproof materials. Using his pizza oven and manufacturing knowledge, Davis developed a revolutionary lightweight body armour—the first modern concealable bulletproof vest.

By 1972, Davis had founded Second Chance Body Armor, pioneering civilian and police protection equipment that would save thousands of lives. His testing methods were famously direct—he personally demonstrated his products by shooting himself while wearing them, dramatic proof of his confidence in his invention.

Out of a near-fatal trap came an idea that would shield thousands — proof that innovation often begins with intuition, and a reason to never ignore a gut feeling.

Helga & Paul Smith

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SYNONYMS

apprehension, conception, feeling, forewarning, funny feeling, foreboding, gut feeling, hint, hunch, idea, impression, indication, INKLING, intimation, intuition, notion, portent, premonition, prenotion, presentiment, prognostication, sneaking suspicion, suspicion, vague idea, vague feeling

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SMUGGLE OWAD into an English conversation today, say something like:

“It’s ironic isn’t it? We haven’t got the least INKLING about the origin of the word INKLING.”

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