tine
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tine¹
- /taɪn/
Sounds like Tyne · Rhymes with -aɪn
Where it comes from
From Middle English tine, alteration of Middle English tinde, tind, from Old English tind, from Proto-West Germanic *tind, Proto-Germanic *tindaz, from Proto-Indo-European *h₃dénts (“tooth, peg”). Cognate with Saterland Frisian Tiende, Tiene (“prong, tine”), German Zind, Zint (“prong”). Compare also the related English tind and German Zinne.
noun tines
- A spike or point on an implement or tool, especially a prong of a fork or a tooth of a comb. The tines of the fork were quite evidently of iron or steel, the girl did not know which, while the handle and the spoon were of the same material as the smaller vessels.
- A small branch, especially on an antler or horn. “I answer not the challenge of my prisoner,” said Front-de-Bœuf; “nor shalt thou, Maurice de Bracy.—Giles,” he continued, “hang the franklin’s glove upon the tine of yonder branched antlers:[…]
- A wild vetch or tare.
tine²
Where it comes from
Unknown, possibly related to etymology 1.
adjective tiner · tinest · tyne
- small, diminutive
tine³
Where it comes from
See teen (“affliction”).
noun
- Trouble; distress; teen. As wither'd Weed through cruel Winter's Tine
tine⁴
Where it comes from
See tind.
verb tines · tining · tined
- To kindle; to set on fire. Coals of contention and hot vengeance tin'd.
- To rage; to smart. Ne was there salve, ne was there medicine, / That mote recure their wounds; so inly they did tine.
tine⁵
Where it comes from
From Middle English tynen, from Old English tȳnan, from tūn (“enclosure”) (modern town).
verb tines · tining · tined
- To shut in, or enclose. When I was then surrounded on every side by the fiends, and tined about by the blindness of the darkness, then hove I my eyes up and looked hither and yond, whether any help were to come to me, that I might be rescued; […]
Tine⁶
Where it comes from
Various origins:
* Borrowed from Italian Tinè, a surname predominantly found in Sicily.
* An English surname, variant of Tyne.
* An Americanized spelling of the German surname Thein.
proper noun Tines
- A surname.
Translations
Talk about this word "tine." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/tine. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026. tine. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/tine "tine." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/tine.Cite this
@misc{tine_2026,
title = {tine},
howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
year = {2026},
url = {https://micwyn.com/word/tine},
urldate = {2026-11-06}
}
