inkling

詳細解釋：

in.kling

n.（名詞）
A slight hint or indication.
暗示，隱喻：輕微地暗示或指示
A slight understanding or vague idea or notion.
略知，模糊概念：淺顯的理解、模糊的印象或概念

來源：
Probably alteration of Middle English (a) ningkiling [(a) hint, suggestion]
可能為 中古英文 (a) ningkiling的變化 [暗示]
possibly alteration of nikking
可能為 nikking的變化
from nikken [to mark a text for correction]
源自 nikken [標記一段文章，以改正錯誤]
from nik [notch, tally]
源自 nik [刻痕，計分]
perhaps from variant of Old French niche [niche] * see niche
可能源自 古法文 niche的變體 [壁龕] *參見 niche

<注釋>One of the more fascinating journeys in the histories of words is the one that linksnest and inkling. We begin this journey with the Indo-European rootnizdo-, which by way of Germanic.nist- will give us nest but also leads to Latinnodus, .nest.. From Latinnodus may come Old French (and modern French) niche, meaning .niche.. It is possible that in Old French a variant form existed that was borrowed into Middle English asnik, meaning .a notch, tally.. This word seems related to the Middle English wordnikken, which may mean .to mark a text for correction,.andnikking, .a hint, slight indication,. or possibly .a whisper, mention.. The wordnikking appears only once, in a Middle English text composed around 400, as does the wordningkiling, found in another copy of the same text. It is possible thatningkiling is from nikking. Furthermore, it is probable that people divideda ninkling incorrectly and got an inkling, just as they did witha napron, getting an apron. If all this has indeed happened,inkling has come a long way from the nest.
在單詞的演變史中，從nest 到 inkling 是一個有趣的過程。 我們從印歐語系詞根nizdo- 開始， 通過日耳曼語的nist- 變為我們的 nest ， 也衍生出拉丁語的nidus ，.巢.之意。 從拉丁語的nidus 有了古法文（和現代法文）中的 niche ，表示.壁龕.。 有可能在法文中有一個變體是從中古英文的nik （刻痕，計分）變化而來。 這個詞看來與中古英文中的nikken 一詞有關， 它的意思是.為改正一篇文字而做記號.，也與nikking 有關，意為.暗示，輕微指示.或也可能是.低聲說話，提及.之意。 在一篇400年左右所作的中古英文文章中，hikking 只出現了一次， 在同樣內容的另一份版本中ningkiling 也只出現了一次。 所以有可能ninkiling 是由 nikking 變化而來。 此外，很有可能人們錯誤地將a ninkling 分開從而得到 an inkling ， 就象人們錯誤地處理a napron 從而得到 an apron 一樣。 如果所有這些真的發生了，inkling 一詞從其巢穴走了一條長長的演變之路