In 1511, leaders in Mecca believed coffee stimulated radical thinking and outlawed the drink. In 1524, the leaders overturned that order, and people could drink coffee again.
PIN
peg, pin, thole, tholepin, rowlock, oarlock
(noun) a holder attached to the gunwale of a boat that holds the oar in place and acts as a fulcrum for rowing
pin
(noun) a small slender (often pointed) piece of wood or metal used to support or fasten or attach things
pin
(noun) a piece of jewelry that is pinned onto the wearer’s garment
pin, flag
(noun) flagpole used to mark the position of the hole on a golf green
pin, pin tumbler
(noun) cylindrical tumblers consisting of two parts that are held in place by springs; when they are aligned with a key the bolt can be thrown
pivot, pin
(noun) axis consisting of a short shaft that supports something that turns
pin, peg, stick
(noun) informal terms for the leg; “fever left him weak on his sticks”
peg, pin
(noun) small markers inserted into a surface to mark scores or define locations etc.
fall, pin
(noun) when a wrestler’s shoulders are forced to the mat
pin
(verb) (chess) immobilize a piece
trap, pin, immobilize, immobilise
(verb) to hold fast or prevent from moving; “The child was pinned under the fallen tree”
pin
(verb) attach or fasten with pins; “pin the needle to the shirt”
pin
(verb) pierce with a pin; “pin down the butterfly”
Source: WordNet® 3.1
Etymology 1
Noun
pin (plural pins)
A needle without an eye (usually) made of drawn-out steel wire with one end sharpened and the other flattened or rounded into a head, used for fastening.
A small nail with a head and a sharp point.
A cylinder often of wood or metal used to fasten or as a bearing between two parts.
(wrestling, professional wrestling) The victory condition of holding the opponent's shoulders on the wrestling mat for a prescribed period of time.
A slender object specially designed for use in a specific game or sport, such as skittles or bowling.
(informal, in plural) A leg.
(electricity) Any of the individual connecting elements of a multipole electrical connector.
A piece of jewellery that is attached to clothing with a pin.
(US) A simple accessory that can be attached to clothing with a pin or fastener, often round and bearing a design, logo or message, and used for decoration, identification or to show political affiliation, etc.
Synonyms: badge, lapel pin
(chess) A scenario in which moving a lesser piece to escape from attack would expose a more valuable piece to attack.
(golf) The flagstick: the flag-bearing pole which marks the location of a hole
(curling) The spot at the exact centre of the house (the target area)
(dated) A mood, a state of being.
One of a row of pegs in the side of an ancient drinking cup to mark how much each person should drink.
(medicine, obsolete) Caligo.
A thing of small value; a trifle.
A peg in musical instruments for increasing or relaxing the tension of the strings.
(engineering) A short shaft, sometimes forming a bolt, a part of which serves as a journal.
The tenon of a dovetail joint.
(UK, brewing) A size of brewery cask, equal to half a firkin, or eighth of a barrel.
(informal) A pinball machine.
Synonyms
• (small nail): nail, tack
• (cylinder of wood or metal): peg
• (games): skittle
• (jewellery fastened with a pin): brooch
Hyponyms
• (jewellery fastened with a pin): breastpin
• (chess): absolute pin, relative pin, partial pin
Verb
pin (third-person singular simple present pins, present participle pinning, simple past and past participle pinned)
(often followed by a preposition such as "to" or "on") To fasten or attach (something) with a pin.
(chess, usually, in the passive) To cause (a piece) to be in a pin.
(wrestling) To pin down (someone).
To enclose; to confine; to pen; to pound.
(computing, GUI, transitive) To attach (an icon, application, etc.) to another item.
(computing, transitive) To fix (an array in memory, a security certificate, etc.) so that it cannot be modified.
To cause an analog gauge to reach the stop pin at the high end of the range.
Synonym: peg
Etymology 2
Verb
pin (third-person singular simple present pins, present participle pinning, simple past and past participle pinned)
Alternative form of peen
Anagrams
• NIP, NPI, Nip, nip
Etymology 1
Noun
PIN (plural PINs)
Acronym of personal identification number (“personal identification number”).
Etymology 2
Noun
PIN (plural PINs)
(organic chemistry) Initialism of preferred IUPAC name.
Anagrams
• NIP, NPI, Nip, nip
Source: Wiktionary
Pin, v. t. (Metal Working)
Definition: To peen.
Pin, v. t. Etym: [Cf. Pen to confine, or Pinfold.]
Definition: To inclose; to confine; to pen; to pound.
Pin, n. Etym: [OE. pinne, AS. pinn a pin, peg; cf. D. pin, G. pinne, Icel. pinni, W. pin, Gael. & Ir. pinne; all fr. L. pinna a pinnacle, pin, feather, perhaps orig. a different word from pinna feather. Cf. Fin of a fish, Pen a feather.]
1. A piece of wood, metal, etc., generally cylindrical, used for fastening separate articles together, or as a support by which one article may be suspended from another; a peg; a bolt. With pins of adamant And chains they made all fast. Milton.
2. Especially, a small, pointed and headed piece of brass or other wire (commonly tinned), largely used for fastening clothes, attaching papers, etc.
3. Hence, a thing of small value; a trifle. He . . . did not care a pin for her. Spectator.
4. That which resembles a pin in its form or use; as: (a) A peg in musical instruments, for increasing or relaxing the tension of the strings. (b) A linchpin. (c) A rolling-pin. (d) A clothespin. (e) (Mach.) A short shaft, sometimes forming a bolt, a part of which serves as a journal. See Illust. of Knuckle joint, under Knuckle. (f) (Joinery) The tenon of a dovetail joint.
5. One of a row of pegs in the side of an ancient drinking cup to mark how much each man should drink.
6. The bull's eye, or center, of a target; hence, the center. [Obs.] "The very pin of his heart cleft." Shak.
7. Mood; humor. [Obs.] "In merry pin." Cowper.
8. (Med.)
Definition: Caligo. See Caligo. Shak.
9. An ornament, as a brooch or badge, fastened to the clothing by a pin; as, a Masonic pin.
10. The leg; as, to knock one off his pins. [Slang] Banking pin (Horol.), a pin against which a lever strikes, to limit its motion.
– Pin drill (Mech.), a drill with a central pin or projection to enter a hole, for enlarging the hole, or for sinking a recess for the head of a bolt, etc.; a counterbore.
– Pin grass. (Bot.) See Alfilaria.
– Pin hole, a small hole made by a pin; hence, any very small aperture or perforation.
– Pin lock, a lock having a cylindrical bolt; a lock in which pins, arranged by the key, are used instead of tumblers.
– Pin money, an allowance of money, as that made by a husband to his wife, for private and personal expenditure.
– Pin rail (Naut.), a rail, usually within the bulwarks, to hold belaying pins. Sometimes applied to the fife rail. Called also pin rack.
– Pin wheel. (a) A contrate wheel in which the cogs are cylindrical pins. (b) (Fireworks) A small coil which revolves on a common pin and makes a wheel of yellow or colored fire.
Pin, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Pinned; p. pr. & vb. n. Pinning.] Etym: [See Pin, n.]
Definition: To fasten with, or as with, a pin; to join; as, to pin a garment; to pin boards together. "Aa if she would pin her to her heart." Shak. To pin one's faith upon, to depend upon; to trust to.
Source: Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary 1913 Edition
Recent Word Finds
Word of the Day
29 May 2025
CRITICAL
(adjective) characterized by careful evaluation and judgment; “a critical reading”; “a critical dissertation”; “a critical analysis of Melville’s writings”
Coffee Trivia
