▪ I. unˈpin, v.
[un-2 3, 4.]
1. trans. To withdraw the pin or bolt of (a door); to unbolt.
| 13.. Coer de L. 4212 On schal dwelle the clos withinne, The gate to unschette and unpynne, And stylly to unschette the lok. 1377 Langl. P. Pl. B. xi. 108 Þe porter vnpynned þe ȝate. Ibid. xx. 328. c 1400 Beryn 484 ‘Away, dogg, with evil deth,’ quod he, þat was within, And made hym al redy, the dorr to vnpyn. a 1547 Surrey æneid ii. 328 Sinon..Let fourth the Grekes enclosed in the womb, The closures eke of pine by stealth vnpind. 1596 Drayton Legends iv. 825 Peace, the good Porter, readie still at hand It doth un⁓pin. 1753 Smollett Ct. Fathom xxix, The quaker..unpinned the other coach-door..and trundled himself into the mud. 1826 Scott Woodst. xiii, Joan unpinned the door, to demand who was without. |
| absol. 1377 Langl. P. Pl. B. xviii. 261 Prynces of þis place, vnpynneth & vnlouketh! |
2. To remove pins or pegs from; to unfasten or detach in this way. Also
fig.| 1611 Cotgr., Declaveter, to vnboult, vnpinne, vnpeg; loose from. 1633 G. Herbert Temple, Constancie i, Whom neither force nor fawning can Unpinne, or wrench from giving all their due. 1673 R. Head Canting Acad. 76 Unpinning a wheel [he] took it off. a 1699 J. Beaumont Psyche xvi. xvii, Unclasp my Joints; unlace my nerves; and try My finest tenderest membranes to unpin. 1701 Warwick Mem. Reign Chas. I, 6 They have in a great measure unpinned the firmness of the government. 1825 J. Nicholson Operat. Mechanic 500 When the upper part of the frame..is unpinned and removed. |
| transf. 1674 Grew Anat. Plants (1682) 228 [The atoms of] any fixed unodorable, or untastable Body..being not able to make any Smell or Taste, unless they were first dissolved; that is to say, unpin'd one from another. |
3. To undo the dress of (a woman) by the removal of pins. Also
absol.| 1604 Shakes. Oth. iv. iii. 35 æmilia. Shall I go fetch your Night-gowne? Desdemona. No, vn-pin me here. c 1680 Roxb. Ball. (1891) vii. 459 Prithee begin; don't delay, but unpin. 1745 Fielding Tom Jones xiii. iii, Mrs. Etoff, who had the honour to pin and unpin the Lady Bellaston. 1815 Hist. J. Decastro III. 331 Come and unpin me, O my dearest husband! |
| fig. 1641 Milton Animadv. 9 The peremptory Analysis..will be so hardy as once more to unpinne your spruce fastidious oratory, to rumple her laces [etc.]. |
4. a. To remove a pin or pins from (an article of dress, etc.); to detach by removing or releasing a pin or pins. Also in
fig. context.
| 1605 P. Erondelle Fr. Gard. O 8 b, Go to, take of my cloathes vnpinne that, vntie this. 1630 I. Craven God's Tribunall 33 A day..when all maskes shall be vnpinned, and all disguises taken off. 1662 W. Gurnall Chr. in Arm. iii. xxx. 256 Unpinne this story, take off that gaudy phrase, and nothing is left in the discourse. 1709 Steele Tatler No. 36 ¶3 She..began to unpin her hood. 1740 Richardson Pamela II. 21 He began to unpin my Handkerchief. 1769 Lady M. Coke Jrnl. 8 Feb. (1892) III. 19 My Maids had pin'd up the train of my Sack to my back, and had forgot to unpin it. 1849 C. Brontë Shirley xxv, Who gave you this little brooch? Let me unpin it and look at it. 1860 E. Eden Semi-attached Couple vi, Sarah unpinned a gigantic bunch of camellias. 1887 Fenn Master of Cerem. i, Unpinning a piece of paper that guarded the gay silks and wools. |
b. intr. To become unpinned.
| 1716 Lady Montagu Town Ecl., Tuesday 74 Reaching the kettle made her gown unpin. |
5. trans. Chess. To release (a piece that has been pinned). Hence
unˈpinning vbl. n.| 1878 S. Loyd Chess Strategy 145 The key unpins the Black Queen. 1906 A. C. White Tours de Force p. xxxvii, The more general tasks can be grouped under several heads: checking, sacrificing, pinning and unpinning, [etc.]. 1967 V. Nabokov Speak, Memory (rev. ed.) xiv. 289 Themes in chess..are such devices as forelaying, withdrawing, pinning, unpinning and so forth. |
▪ II. ˈunpin, n. Chess.
[f. the vb.] The action or fact of releasing a piece that has been pinned.
| 1922 Hume & White Good Compan. Two Mover 187 There are six unpins, five of which are direct..while the sixth is an Interference Unpin. 1928 [see half-pin s.v. half II. i.]. |