▪ I. chin, n.1
(tʃɪn)
Forms: 1 cin, 3–6 chyn(ne, 3–7 chinne, 3– chin.
[OE. cin (prob. fem., but only known in gloss.), corresp. to OFris. kin, OS. kinni neut., ‘chin, jaw’, (MDu. kinne, kin, neut., mod.Du. kin f.), OHG. chinni, (MHG. kinne, kin, mod.G. kinn) neut.:—WGer. kinni:—OTeut. *kinnjo{supm}- (cf. Gr. γένειον chin), a neuter derivative from the primitive *kinn- (retained in ON. kinn ‘cheek, lower jaw’), a fem. cons. stem, standing for kinw- (with assimilation of nw to nn in a pre-tonic syllable, founded on an oblique-case form with accented suffix, e.g. genitive pre-Teutonic *genwós): cognate with Gr. γένυς, γένυος lower jaw, side of the face, cheek, Skr. hanus. (In Goth. kinnus fem., the word had passed into the u decl., like Goth. fôtus, tunthus.
The word has in Teut. a somewhat wide range of signification ‘cheek, cheek-bone, jaw-bone, chin’; in all the examples preserved in Eng. the meaning is restricted as in modern use: traces of the wider meaning appear however in OE. cin-bán, mandibula (jaw-bone), Ger. kinnbein cheek-bone, and OE. cin-tóþ molar tooth, grinder, OHG. chinnizan cheek-tooth.]
1. a. The part of the face below the under-lip formed by the prominent extremity of the lower jaw.
| c 1000 ælfric Gloss. in Wr.-Wülcker 157 Mentum, cin. c 1175 Lamb. Hom. 35 Ic walde..sitten on forste & on snawe up et mine chinne. c 1205 Lay. 8147 Hengal smat æuelin swiðe vuele a þane chin. 1393 Gower Conf. I. 275 And sette Constantin therinne All naked up unto the chinne. c 1475 Voc. in Wr.-Wülcker 747 Hic mentum, a schyne. a 1568 Coverdale Bk. Death vi. (1579) 18 The chynne falleth downe..the deadly sweat breaketh out. 1586 Warner Alb. Eng. iv. xx, A round and dimpled Chin. 1600 Shakes. A.Y.L. i. ii. 76 Stroke your chinnes, and sweare by your beards that I am a knaue. 1697 Dryden Virg. Georg. iii. 89 The Mother Cow..Her double Dew-lap from her Chin descends. 1793 Holcroft Lavater's Physiog. xi. 61 The pointed chin is held to be a sign of acuteness and craft. 1828 Stark Elem. Nat. Hist. I. 156 Genus Capra..Horns common to both sexes..chin bearded. 1832 Tennyson Miller's Dau. i, I see the wealthy miller yet—His double chin, his portly size. |
| fig. 1581 T. Howell Deuises (1879) 204 Thy makers Muse in spite of enuies chinne, For wise deuise, deserued praise shall winne. 1629 Milton Ode Nativity xxvi. 3 The Sun..Pillows his Chin upon an orient Wave. |
† b. The hair on the chin, the beard.
Obs.| [c 1205 Lay. 18764 Swor bi his chinne Þat he wuste Merlin.] a 1300 Cursor M. 18843 (Cott.) Forked fair þe chin he bare. |
† c. ? Cheek.
| c 1340 Cursor M. 25491 (Fairf.) Jhesus þat..sufferred for our synne boffetis on þi faire chynne. |
d. Phrases.
† to hold up by the chin: to keep from sinking, support.
† of the first chin: with the beard just beginning to grow.
up to the chin: reaching to the chin; deeply immersed
in.
keep your chin up, often
ellipt. chin up, do not succumb to depression; also
chin(s)-up used
attrib.;
to take it (or life) on the chin (from
Pugilism), to meet misfortune courageously; to withstand a severe blow, irrespective of one's feelings.
| 1562 J. Heywood Prov. & Epigr. (1867) 10 He must needes swym, that is holde vp by the chyn. 1579 Tomson Calvin's Serm. Tim. 222/1 Yet they remaine vnpunnished, yea they are holden vp by the chinne to harden them in their wickednesse. 1616 R. C[rowley] Times' Whis. v. 1706 The richer sort doe stand up to the chin In delicates. 1630 Shirley Grateful Servant iii. iv, Your weak gallants of the first chin..will brag what ladies they have brought to their obedience. 1638 Earl of Strafford Let. to Laud 7 Aug., A languishing purpose to hold me up by the chin..for as long as I may be of use in these affairs. 1928 J. P. McEvoy Show Girl ix. 129 Jack Milton won't kick in another nickel. And we're going to take it on the chin for five thousand down here this week. 1931 Daily Express 22 Sept. 3/4 ‘We are not paying out against sterling,’ chanted the cashier. Elderly Englishmen of the retired colonel type took it on the chin. 1938 P. Gallico Confessions of Story Writer (1946) 226 Keep your chin up. I get the picture. 1939 I. Baird Waste Heritage xix. 263 Keep your chin up honey. 1946 F. Sargeson That Summer 108 Terry said chin up. 1958 Spectator 13 June 761/1 They scoffed at the President's chins-up speeches. 1960 D. Lytton Goddam White Man i. 39, I liked the Williams' because of the way they took life on the chin. 1961 John o' London's 6 July 29/1 Their passivity suggested to me a definite chin-up attitude. |
e. slang (
orig. and chiefly
U.S.). A talk; conversation;
spec. insolent talk, ‘cheek’. Also, reduplicated,
chin-chin.
Cf. chin v. 3 and chin-
wag.
| 1877 ‘Mark Twain’ Love Lett. (1949) x. 198, I haven't had so much chin-chin for years. 1894 P. L. Ford P. Stirling 14 I'll wait till I've graduated, and had a chin with my governor about it. 1902 Masefield Salt-water Ballads 45 Jake was a dirty Dago lad, an' he gave the skipper chin. 1914 G. Atherton Perch of Devil i. xxiv. 148 There's a guy..come out to have a chin with you. 1918 E. M. Roberts Flying Fighter 289, I went back and resumed the ‘chin-chin’ with Kerr and the other boys. 1936 M. de la Roche Whiteoak Harvest x. 129 Oh, I have time for a chin before I go. 1947 Coast to Coast 136 Mum and Mrs. Martin had a good chin-chin at the fence about sickness and husbands. 1952 New Yorker 12 Jan. 24/1 We'd like to have a little chin with you right now. |
2. Comb., as
chin-beard,
chin-chopper,
chin-chucking,
chin-high,
chin-line,
chin-piece,
chin-tip,
chin-tuft,
chin-whiskers;
chin-band,
-cloth,
† -clout, a band or cloth passing under the chin, formerly worn by women, and still used with corpses; also
fig.;
† chin-cushion, a kind of cravat which was puffed out under the chin;
chin-deep a., so deep as to reach the chin;
fig. very deep, deeply immersed
in;
chin-music (chiefly
U.S.), talk, chatter;
chin-mute, a mute applied to the violin by the action of the chin;
chin-scab, a disease in sheep;
chin-stay, a band for fastening a hat or cap under the chin, also a support for the chin;
chin-strap, (
a)
= prec.; (
b)
Saddlery, a strap connecting the throat-strap and nose-band of a halter; (
c) as used by women (see
quot. 1939);
chin-wag (
slang), chat, talk;
v. slang, to talk, chatter;
chin-welk, a disease affecting the chin.
| 1601 Holland Pliny xxxiii. iii, In earings pendant at their ears, in staies, wreaths, and *chin bands. 1856 Mrs. Browning Aur. Leigh 7 Broken loose From chin-bands of the soul, like Lazarus. |
| 1885 Stevenson Dynamiter 109 A *chin-beard in the American fashion. |
| 1837 De Quincey in Tait's Mag. IV. 171 A ‘*chin-chopper’ or Jews'-harp player..will find himself a privileged man in comparison with the philosopher. |
| 1881 Besant & Rice Chapl. Fleet ii. iii, ‘More *chin-chucking, my dear’, said Nancy. |
| 1632 Sherwood, Chinne-peece of an helmet, or a (Ladies) *chin⁓cloth, barbotte, mantonniere, nassel. 1712 Misson Travels in Eng. 90 (D.) Upon the head they put a cap, which they fasten with a very broad chincloth. 1856 Mrs. Browning Aur. Leigh ix. (1882) 382 I'll get up from my grave And wear my chin-cloth for a wedding veil. |
| 1608 Middleton Mad World in Dodsl. O. Pl. V. 362 (N.) The lower part of a gentlewoman's gown, with a mask and a *chin-clout. 1630 J. Taylor (Water P.) Wks. iii. (N.) And from the chin⁓clout to the lowly slipper In Heliconian streams his praise shall dip her. |
| 1748 Richardson Clarissa II. 6 (D.) A King William's cravat, or some such antique *chin-cushion as by the pictures of that prince one sees was then in fashion. |
| 1634 S. R. Noble Soldier v. ii. in Bullen O. Pl. I. 325 In any Noble Act Ile wade *chin-deepe with you. 1823 Lamb Elia, Capt. Jackson, To fancy himself all the while chin⁓deep in riches. |
| 1807 Vancouver Agric. Devon (1813) 237 Training the young top..is done by cutting off the shoot *chin high. |
| 1938 Ottawa Jrnl. 19 Feb. 12/4 To keep *chinline youthful sleep without pillow. 1967 M. Morris in Coast to Coast 1965–6 126 The tell-tale signs of age..the crêpey eyelids, the blurred chin-lines. |
| 1834 J. Romilly Diary 5 Mar. (1967) 50 Evening Party at Mrs Skrines... F. Grey plaid *chin music & sung the dogs meat man: rather too ludicrous. 1836 J. Hildreth Dragoon Campaigns Rocky Mts. I. 26 Full of chin music, as the species of loquacity he possessed is termed. 1852 Gloss. Provinc. Words Berks. 6 Chin-music, chattering; scolding. 1872 Mark Twain Innoc. at Home ii. (Hoppe) [I seek] somebody to jerk a little chin-music for us. 1883 Bread-winners 77 If we have joined this order to listen to chin-music the rest of our lives. 1887 G. B. Shaw Let. 27 May (1965) 170 The Fabian, which has been doing the work whilst the others have been snatching the credit of it with discordant chin music. |
| 1848 J. Bishop tr. Otto's Violin App. v. (1875) 85 The *Chin-mute—by means of which..the violinist is enabled..to bring the newly-designed mute into immediate contact with the bridge. |
| 1632 Sherwood, The *chinne-peece of an helmet..barbotte. |
| 1736–1800 Bailey, *Chin-scab, a scabby Disease in sheep, which Shepherds call the Dartars. |
| 1699 F. Bugg Quakerism Exposed 20 Four double Cross-cloths for a Woman, One Mantle and seven *Chin stays. 1829 Southey Sir T. More (1831) I. 329 It was necessary to support his under jaw with a chin-stay. 1860 V. L. Cameron Future Highway I. vii. 129 A semi-military forage cap with a chin-stay. |
| 1869 E. A. Parkes Pract. Hygiene (ed. 3) 411 The men were obliged to have their *chin-straps as tight as possible to keep them [shakos] on. 1939 M. B. Picken Lang. Fashion 26/2 Chin⁓strap, strap or band worn under the chin... Also, ‘beauty’ strap worn at night, supposedly to prevent double chin. 1942 R. Chandler High Window (1943) v. 43 On the chair beside her there was..a white satin chin-strap. 1955 ‘P. Wentworth’ Out of Past xxii. 118 Adela Castleton was wearing a chinstrap and a kind of mask of some cosmetic preparation. |
| 1850 Thackeray Pendennis (Hoppe) Young dandies with their *chin-tips. |
| 1814 Moore New Cost. Ministers ii. 312 Wig, whiskers, and *chin-tufts all right to a hair. |
| 1879 Punch No. 2061. 4 I'd just like to have a bit of *chinwag with you on the quiet. 1920 Blackw. Mag. Feb. 182/2, I didn't waste any time chin-wagging. 1954 A. Baron Golden Princess 50 Didn't he send her down to the village to chinwag with the Indian chiefs? |
| 1862 Macm. Mag. Oct. 463 The disease called *chin-welk, or mentagra, Sycosis contagiosa. |
| 1883 Grant White W. Adams 113 That adornment known at the West as ‘*chin-whiskers’. |
▪ II. chin, v. (
tʃɪn)
[f. chin n.1] † 1. To press chin to chin.
Obs.| 1599 Breton Author's Dr. 17 A troupe of faire Ladies, Everie one her Lover, Colling and Kissing, Chinning and Embracing, and looking Babies in one anothers Eyes. |
2. To bring up to the chin; also with
up.
| 1869 Eng. Mech. 24 Dec. 357/1 It is not any ‘fellah’ that can chin this kind of fiddle. 1881 Blackmore Christowell xv, He chins up his fiddle, and touches two strings. |
3. U.S. slang. a. To chat, chatter.
| 1884 J. Hay Bread-Winners 161 You haven't done a — thing but lay around on the grass and eat peanuts and hear Bott chin. 1887 N. York World, ‘They chin about the best methods of relieving poverty.’ |
b. trans. To talk to, to address,
esp. boldly or impudently.
| 1892 Gunter Miss Dividends 247, I heard one of them call another ‘Constable’ and the other chinned him as ‘Sheriff!’ 1898 H. S. Canfield Maid of Frontier i. 7 He chinned the barkeep mos' to death. 1911 H. S. Harrison Queed vii. 85 [I have] been up chinning your sporting editor. 1934 J. M. Cain Postman rings Twice ix, The cop was half way down the hall, chinning a nurse. |
4. to chin the bar: in gymnastics, to draw up the body until the chin is brought over the horizontal bar; also
absol. (refl.).
| 1903 Independent 15 Jan. 146/2 He must also be something of an athlete; able to chin the horizontal bar. 1906 Amer. Mag. LXIII. 139/1 On the horizontal bar he was persuaded to chin himself twelve times. 1906 ‘O. Henry’ Four Million 85 He..could chin the bar twice with one hand. 1940 Mind XLIX. 195 No man can chin himself 6,000,000 times in succession without rest. |
Hence
ˈchinning vbl. n., a talk, (
slang).
| 1884 Sunday at Home Jan. 44/2 Are you the boss who wants to give the boys a chinning to-morrow? |
▪ III. chin obs. f. chine n.1