dint Meaning, Definition & Usage

  1. noun interchangeable with `means' in the expression `by means of'

WordNet

Dint noun
Etymology
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.
Definitions
  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 transitive verb
Wordforms
imperfect & past participle Dinted; present participle & verbal noun Dinting
Definitions
  1. To make a mark or cavity on or in, by a blow or by pressure; to dent. Donne. Tennyson.

Webster 1913