*inch*

v. t. [ imp. & p. p. Bepinched ] To pinch, or mark with pinches. Chapman. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. a product of one's creative thinking and work; as, the project was the brainchild of the director.
Syn. -- inspiration. [ WordNet 1.5 ]

n. (Zool.) A bird of the genus Pyrrhula and other related genera, especially the Pyrrhula vulgaris or Pyrrhula rubicilla, a bird of Europe allied to the grosbeak, having the breast, cheeks, and neck, red. [ 1913 Webster ]

☞ As a cage bird it is highly valued for its remarkable power of learning to whistle correctly various musical airs. [ 1913 Webster ]

Crimson-fronted bullfinch. (Zool.) See Burion. --
Pine bullfinch, the pine finch. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ Cf. Chiff-chaff. ] (Zool.) A bird of Europe (Fringilla cœlebs), having a variety of very sweet songs, and highly valued as a cage bird; -- called also copper finch. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ Cf. Sp. chinche, fr. L. cimex. ] 1. (Zool.) The bedbug (Cimex lectularius). [ 1913 Webster ]

2. (Zool.) A bug (Blissus leucopterus), which, in the United States, is very destructive to grass, wheat, and other grains; -- also called chiniz, chinch bug, chink bug. It resembles the bedbug in its disgusting odor. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ Cf. Chinchilla. ] (Zool.) A south American rodent of the genus Lagotis. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. (Zool.) see chinch{ 2 }. [ PJC ]

a. [ F. chiche miserly. ] Parsimonious; niggardly. [ Obs. ] Chaucer. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. Penuriousness. [ Obs. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

By cause of his skarsete and chincherie. Caucer. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ Sp. ] 1. (Zool.) A small rodent (Chinchilla lanigera), of the size of a large squirrel, remarkable for its fine fur, which is very soft and of a pearly gray color. It is a native of Peru and Chili. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. The fur of the chinchilla. [ 1913 Webster ]

3. A heavy, long-napped, tufted woolen cloth.

n. a natural family of small bushy-tailed South American burrowing rodents.
Syn. -- family Chinchillidae. [ WordNet 1.5 ]

n. a gregarious burrowing rodent (Lagostomus maximus) larger than the chinchillas.
Syn. -- viscacha, Lagostomus maximus. [ WordNet 1.5 ]

adj. [ Compar. chinchier superl. chinchiest ] [ See chinche. ] same as stingy.
Syn. -- cheap, chintzy, stingy, chinche. [ WordNet 1.5 ]

{ } any of several trees of the genus Cinchona. Same as Cinchona. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ Sp. cincha, fr. L. cingere to gird. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

1. A strong saddle girth, as of canvas. [ West. U. S. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

2. A tight grip. [ Colloq. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

v. t. [ imp. & p. p. Cinched p. pr. & vb. n. Cinch"ing.] 1. To put a cinch upon; to girth tightly. [Western U. S.] [Webster 1913 Suppl.]

2. To get a sure hold upon; to get into a tight place, as for forcing submission. [Slang, U. S.] [Webster 1913 Suppl.]

v. i. To perform the action of cinching; to tighten the cinch; -- often with up. [ Western U. S. ] [ Webster 1913 Suppl. ]

n. [ Cf. cinch a girth, a tight grip, as v., to get a sure hold upon; perh. so named from the tactics used in the game; also cf. Sp. cinco five (the five spots of the color of the trump being important cards). ] A variety of auction pitch in which a draw to improve the hand is added, and the five of trumps (called right pedro) and the five of the same color (called left pedro, and ranking between the five and the four of trumps) each count five on the score. Fifty-one points make a game. Called also double pedro and high five. [ Webster 1913 Suppl. ]

v. t. In the game of cinch, to protect (a trick) by playing a higher trump than the five. [ Webster 1913 Suppl. ]

n. [ So named from the wife of Count Chinchon, viceroy of Peru in the seventeenth century, who by its use was freed from an intermittent fever, and after her return to Spain, contributed to the general propagation of this remedy. ] 1. (Bot.) A genus of trees growing naturally on the Andes in Peru and adjacent countries, but now cultivated in the East Indies, producing a medicinal bark of great value. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. (Med.) The bark of any species of Cinchona containing three per cent. or more of bitter febrifuge alkaloids; Peruvian bark; Jesuits' bark. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. Allied or pertaining to cinchona, or to the plants that produce it. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. Belonging to, or obtained from, cinchona. Mayne. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ From Cinchona. ] (Chem.) One of the quinine group of alkaloids, found especially in red cinchona bark. It is a white crystalline substance, C19H22N2O, with a bitter taste and qualities similar to, but weaker than, quinine; -- sometimes called also cinchonidia. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ From Cinchona: cf. F. cinchonine. ] (Chem.) One of the quinine group of alkaloids isomeric with and resembling cinchonidine; -- called also cinchonia. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ From Cinchona. ] (Med.) A condition produced by the excessive or long-continued use of quinine, and marked by deafness, roaring in the ears, vertigo, etc. [ 1913 Webster ]

v. t. To produce cinchonism in; to poison with quinine or with cinchona. [ 1913 Webster ]

v. t. [ imp. & p. p. Clinched p. pr. & vb. n. Clinching. ] [ OE. clenchen, prop. causative of clink to cause to clink, to strike; cf. D. klinken to tinkle, rivet. See Clink. ] 1. To hold firmly; to hold fast by grasping or embracing tightly. “Clinch the pointed spear.” Dryden. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. To set closely together; to close tightly; as, to clinch the teeth or the first. Swift. [ 1913 Webster ]

3. To bend or turn over the point of (something that has been driven through an object), so that it will hold fast; as, to clinch a nail. [ 1913 Webster ]

4. To make conclusive; to confirm; to establish; as, to clinch an argument. South. [ 1913 Webster ]

v. i. To hold fast; to grasp something firmly; to seize or grasp one another. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. 1. The act or process of holding fast; that which serves to hold fast; a grip; a grasp; a clamp; a holdfast; as, to get a good clinch of an antagonist, or of a weapon; to secure anything by a clinch. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. A pun. Pope. [ 1913 Webster ]

3. (Naut.) A hitch or bend by which a rope is made fast to the ring of an anchor, or the breeching of a ship's gun to the ringbolts. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. 1. One who, or that which, clinches; that which holds fast. Pope. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. That which ends a dispute or controversy; a decisive argument. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. See Clinker-built. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. (Zool.) A British wagtail. [ 1913 Webster ]

n.; pl. Finches [ AS. finc; akin to D. vink, OHG. fincho, G. fink; cf. W. pinc a finch; also E. spink. ] (Zool.) A small singing bird of many genera and species, belonging to the family Fringillidæ. [ 1913 Webster ]

☞ The word is often used in composition, as in chaffinch, goldfinch, grassfinch, pinefinch, etc. [ 1913 Webster ]

Bramble finch. See Brambling. --
Canary finch, the canary bird. --
Copper finch. See Chaffinch. --
Diamond finch. See under Diamond. --
Finch falcon (Zool.), one of several very small East Indian falcons of the genus Hierax. --
To pull a finch, to swindle an ignorant or unsuspecting person. [ Obs. ] “Privily a finch eke could he pull.” Chaucer. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. Streaked or spotted on the back; -- said of cattle. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. Same as Finchbacked. [ 1913 Webster ]

v. i. [ imp. & p. p. Flinched p. pr. & vb. n. Flinching. ] [ Prob. fr. OE. flecchen to waver, give way, F. fléchir, fr. L. flectere to bend; but prob. influenced by E. blench. Cf. Flex. ] 1. To withdraw from any suffering or undertaking, from pain or danger; to fail in doing or perserving; to show signs of yielding or of suffering; to shrink; to wince; as, one of the parties flinched from the combat. [ 1913 Webster ]

A child, by a constant course of kindness, may be accustomed to bear very rough usage without flinching or complaining. Locke. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. (Croquet) To let the foot slip from a ball, when attempting to give a tight croquet. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. The act of flinching. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. One who flinches or fails. [ 1913 Webster ]

adv. In a flinching manner. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ AS. goldfinc. See Gold, and Finch. ] (Zool.) (a) A beautiful bright-colored European finch (Carduelis elegans). The name refers to the large patch of yellow on the wings. The front of the head and throat are bright red; the nape, with part of the wings and tail, black; -- called also goldspink, goldie, fool's coat, drawbird, draw-water, thistle finch, and sweet William. (b) The yellow-hammer. (c) A small American finch (Spinus tristis); the thistle bird. [ 1913 Webster ]

☞ The name is also applied to other yellow finches, esp. to several additional American species of Spinus. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. Any of several usually brightly-colored Australian weaverbirds; they are often kept as cage birds.
Syn. -- grass finch. [ WordNet 1.5 ]

n. (Zool.) 1. A European finch (Ligurinus chloris); -- called also green bird, green linnet, green grosbeak, green olf, greeny, and peasweep. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. The Texas sparrow (Embernagra rufivirgata), in which the general color is olive green, with four rufous stripes on the head. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. (Zool.) The common European grosbeak (Coccothraustes vulgaris); -- called also cherry finch, and coble. [ 1913 Webster ]

v. t. [ imp. & p. p. Inched p. pr. & vb. n. Inching. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

1. To drive by inches, or small degrees. [ R. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

He gets too far into the soldier's grace
And inches out my master. Dryden. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. To deal out by inches; to give sparingly. [ R. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ Gael. inis. ] An island; -- often used in the names of small islands off the coast of Scotland, as in Inchcolm, Inchkeith, etc. [ Scot. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ OE. inche, unche, AS. ynce, L. uncia the twelfth part, inch, ounce. See Ounce a weight. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

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. [ 1913 Webster ]

The symbol ′ is the same symbol as the light accent, or the "minutes" of an arc. The "seconds" symbol should actually have the two strokes closer than in repeated "minutes", but in this dictionary ′′ will be interpreted as "seconds". [ PJC ]

12 seconds (′′) make 1 inch or prime. 12 inches or primes (′) make 1 foot. B. Greenleaf. [ 1913 Webster ]

☞ 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. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. A small distance or degree, whether of time or space; hence, a critical moment; also used metaphorically of minor concessins in bargaining; as, he won't give an inch; give him an inch and he'll take a mile. [ 1913 Webster ]

Beldame, I think we watched you at an inch. Shak. [ 1913 Webster ]

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. [ 1913 Webster ]

v. i. To advance or retire by inches or small degrees; to move slowly; as, to inch forward. [ 1913 Webster ]

With slow paces measures back the field,
And inches to the walls. Dryden. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. Measuring an inch in any dimension, whether length, breadth, or thickness; -- used in composition; as, a two-inch cable; a four-inch plank. [ 1913 Webster ]

Inch stuff, boards, etc., sawed one inch thick. [ 1913 Webster ]