pinch

Wikipedia

English

Etymology

From Middle English pinchen, from Anglo-Norman *pinchier (compare Old French pincer, pincier (“to pinch, find fault”)), from Vulgar Latin *pincāre, a nasalised variant of Vulgar Latin *piccāre (“to pick, pierce”), of Germanic origin, from Old Frankish *pikkōn, from Proto-Germanic *pikōnan, *pukanan (“to pick, peck, prick, knock”), from Proto-Indo-European *beu-, *bu- (“to make a dull sound”). Cognate with Old English pȳcan, pician (“to pick, pluck”), Old Norse pikka (“to prick, peck”), Middle Dutch and Middle Low German picken (“to pick, peck, pierce”), German pochen (“to knock, pound, thump”). More at pick.

Pronunciation

• Audio (US)

  (file)

  Rhymes: -ɪntʃ

Verb

pinch (third-person singular simple present pinches, present participle pinching, simple past and past participle pinched)

1. To squeeze a small amount of a person's skin and flesh, making it hurt.
2. To steal, usually of something almost trivial or inconsequential.
3. To arrest or capture.
4. (horticulture) To cut shoots or buds of a plant in order to shape the plant, or to improve its yield.
5. (nautical) To sail so close-hauled that the sails begin to flutter.

Translations

to squeeze a small amount of skin

Bosnian: uštinuti (bs) Catalan: pessigar (ca) Chinese: Mandarin: 捏 (zh) (niē), 掐 (zh) (qiā) Czech: štípnout (cs) Danish: knibe (da), nappe (da), nive (da), klemme (da) Dutch: knijpen (nl) Finnish: nipistää (fi) French: pincer (fr) German: kneifen (de) n., zwicken (de)

Italian: pizzicare (it) Japanese: 抓る (ja) (つねる, tsuneru) Kurdish: قونجورک گرتن, نوقورچ لێدان Portuguese: beliscar (pt) Romanian: pișca (ro), ciupi (ro) Russian: щипать (ru) (ščipát') impf., ущипнуть (ru) (uščipnút') pf., прищемлять (ru) Spanish: pellizcar (es) Swedish: nypa (sv) Turkish: çimdiklemek (tr)

to steal

Czech: štípnout (cs) Danish: hugge (da), negle (da), nuppe (da) Finnish: näpistää (fi)

French: chiper (fr) Portuguese: Roubar (pt) m. Spanish: pellizcar (es) Swedish: snatta (sv)

to arrest or capture

Danish: snuppe (da), tage (da) Finnish: napata (fi) French: pincer (fr)

Italian: acciuffare (it) Russian: защемлять (ru) Swedish: knipa (sv)

horticulture: to cut shoots or buds

Finnish: leikata (fi), latvoa (fi)

nautical: to sail close-hauled

Finnish: piinata (fi)

Swedish: pina (sv)

Noun

pinch (plural pinches)

1. The action of squeezing a small amount of a person's skin and flesh, making it hurt.
2. A small amount of powder or granules, such that the amount could be held between fingertip and thumb tip.
3. An awkward situation of some kind (especially money or social) which is difficult to escape.
   • 1955, Rex Stout, "Die Like a Dog", in Three Witnesses, October 1994 Bantam edition, ISBN 0553249592, page 171:

     It took nerve and muscle both to carry the body out and down the stairs to the lower hall, but he damn well had to get it out of his place and away from his door, and any of those four could have done it in a pinch, and it sure was a pinch.

4. An organic herbal smoke additive.

Derived terms

• feel the pinch
• in a pinch
• pinchy
• take with a pinch of salt

Descendants

• Japanese: ピンチ (pinchi)

Translations

action of squeezing a small amount of skin

Bosnian: štipanje (bs) n. Catalan: pessic (ca) Danish: knib (da) n., nap (da) n., niv (da) n. Finnish: nipistys (fi) French: pincement (fr) m.

Italian: pizzico (it) m. Kurdish: نوقورچ, قونجورکه‌ Portuguese: beliscar Spanish: pellizco (es) m. Swedish: nyp (sv)

small amount of powder

Czech: špetka (cs) f. Danish: drys (da) n. Finnish: hyppysellinen (fi), hyppynen (fi) French: pincée (fr) f. Italian: pizzico (it) m.

Polish: szczypta f. Portuguese: pitada f. (ex: uma pitada de sal) Russian: щепотка (ru), щепоть (ru) Spanish: pizca (es) f. Swedish: nypa (sv)

someone in a tight pinch

Finnish: pinteessä (fi) Portuguese: aperto, alhada

Spanish: aprieto (es) m. Swedish: knipa (sv)