Webster
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Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary · 1913

Inch

Inch (ĭnch), n. [Gael. inis.] An island; — often used in the names of small islands off the coast of Scotland, as in Inchcolm, Inchkeith, etc. [Scot.]

Inch, n. [OE. inche, unche, AS. ynce, L. uncia the twelfth part, inch, ounce. See Ounce a weight.]

1. A measure of length, the twelfth part of a foot, commonly subdivided into halves, quarters, eights, sixteenths, etc., as among mechanics. It was also formerly divided into twelve parts, called lines, and originally into three parts, called barleycorns, its length supposed to have been determined from three grains of barley placed end to end lengthwise. It is also sometimes called a prime (′), composed of twelve seconds (′′), as in the duodecimal system of arithmetic.

12 seconds (′′) make 1 inch or prime. 12 inches or primes (′) make 1 foot. B. Greenleaf.

☞ The meter, the accepted scientific standard of length, equals 39.37 inches; the inch is equal to 2.54 centimeters. See Metric system, and Meter.

2. A small distance or degree, whether of time or space; hence, a critical moment.

Beldame, I think we watched you at an inch. Shak.

By inches, by slow degrees, gradually. — Inch of candle. See under Candle. — Inches of pressure, usually, the pressure indicated by so many inches of a mercury column, as on a steam gauge. — Inch of water. See under Water. — Miner's inch, (Hydraulic Mining), a unit for the measurement of water. See Inch of water, under Water.

Inch (ĭnch), v. t. [imp. & p. p. Inched; p. pr. & vb. n. Inching.]

1. To drive by inches, or small degrees. [R.]

He gets too far into the soldier's grace And inches out my master. Dryden.

2. To deal out by inches; to give sparingly. [R.]

Inch, v. i. To advance or retire by inches or small degrees; to move slowly.

With slow paces measures back the field, And inches to the walls. Dryden.

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

Inch stuff, boards, etc., sawed one inch thick.

Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, Noah Porter, editor (Springfield, Mass.: G. & C. Merriam, 1913). Public domain. Text as transcribed by MICRA, Inc., from Project Gutenberg. Changed for Deep Dive Bible: Greek, which our source spelled in Latin letters, set in Greek letters; entries of one spelling merged into one article; Greek words our source left out (shown as “?”), read from the 1898 printing, from the same plates (the Library of Congress’s copy), where the place could be found with certainty. Of the others, 1,362 (a word or a single letter each) were inferred by AI from the context by the dictionary’s own rules and are marked with a wavy underline (tap or point at one to see the note); the rest, which could not be inferred with confidence, are left as “?”.