DINT
dint
(noun) interchangeable with ‘means’ in the expression ‘by means of’
Source: WordNet® 3.1
Etymology 1
Noun
dint (countable and uncountable, plural dints)
(obsolete) A blow, stroke, especially dealt in a fight.
Force, power; especially in by dint of.
The mark left by a blow; an indentation or impression made by violence; a dent.
Verb
dint (third-person singular simple present dints, present participle dinting, simple past and past participle dinted)
To dent.
Etymology 2
Contraction
dint
Pronunciation spelling of didn’t.
Anagrams
• NDTI, idn't, tind
Source: Wiktionary
Dint, n. Etym: [OE. dint, dent, dunt, a blow, AS. dynt; akin to Icel.
dyntr a dint, dynta to dint, and perh. to L. fendere (in
composition). Cf. 1st Dent, Defend.]
1. A blow; a stroke. [Obs.] "Mortal dint." Milton. "Like thunder's
dint." Fairfax.
2. The mark left by a blow; an indentation or impression made by
violence; a dent. Dryden.
Every dint a sword had beaten in it [the shield]. Tennyson.
3. Force; power; -- esp. in the phrase by dint of.
Now you weep; and, I perceive, you feel The dint of pity. Shak.
It was by dint of passing strength That he moved the massy stone at
length. Sir W. Scott.
Dint, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Dinted; p. pr. & vb. n. Dinting.]
Definition: To make a mark or cavity on or in, by a blow or by pressure; to
dent. Donne. Tennyson.
Source: Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary 1913 Edition