inch

Etymology 1

From Middle English ynche, enche, from Old English ynċe, from Latin uncia (“Roman inch, various similar units”), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *óynos (“one”). Cognate with Middle Dutch enke (“thumb, thumb's width, inch”). Doublet of a, one, ounce, uncia, onça, onza, oka, ouguiya, and awqiyyah.

noun

1. An English unit of length equal to 1/12 of a foot or 2.54 cm, roughly the width of a thumb.
2. (figurative) Any very short distance.
   Don't move an inch!
3. Any of various similar units of length in other traditional systems of measurement.
4. (meteorology) A depth of one inch on the ground, used as a measurement of rainfall.
5. A depth of one inch in a glass, used as a rough measurement of alcoholic beverages.

verb

1. (intransitive, followed by a preposition) To advance very slowly, or by a small amount (in a particular direction).
   Fearful of falling, he inched along the window ledge.
   The window blind had been lowered — Zooey had done all his bathtub reading by the light from the three-bulb overhead fixture—but a fraction of morning light inched under the blind and onto the title page of the manuscript. 1957, J. D. Salinger, “Zooey”, in Franny and Zooey, published 1961
   Already guarding a 1-0 lead from the first leg, Blackpool inched further ahead when Stephen Dobbie scored from an acute angle on the stroke of half-time. The game appeared to be completely beyond Birmingham’s reach three minutes into the second period when Matt Phillips reacted quickly to bundle the ball past Colin Doyle and off a post. May 9, 2012, John Percy, “Birmingham City 2 Blackpool 2 (2-3 on agg): match report”, in the Telegraph
2. To drive by inches, or small degrees.
   He gets too far into the soldier's grace / And inches out my master. 1692, John Dryden, Cleomenes, the Spartan Hero, a Tragedy
3. To deal out by inches; to give sparingly.

Etymology 2

From Scottish Gaelic innis.

noun

1. (Scotland, Ireland) A small island; an islet.
2. (Scotland, Ireland) A meadow, pasture, field, or haugh.
   An ivy-clad farmhouse surrounded by trees, it stood on the sunny side of a sloping hill at the foot of which the Darigle river curved its way through gold-furzed inches to disappear under a stone bridge into the woods beyond. 1988, Alice Taylor, To School Through the Fields: An Irish Country Childhood, Brandon Ltd, page 6
   As these calves grew older they did not need to return to the farmyard for feeding as they were able to eat sufficient grass for themselves. They were then kept in the fields, known as the inches, along by the river[,] where they grew strong[,] and during the winter cold when grass was scarce[,] hay was carried down to them. 1988, Alice Taylor, To School Through the Fields: An Irish Country Childhood, Brandon Ltd, page 22

Etymology 3

table Semantic loan from Cantonese 寸 (cyun³, “inch”), which is an alternative form of 串 (cyun³, “cocky; to provoke; etc.”).

adj

1. (Hong Kong, colloquial) cocky and cheeky
   I still remember Donald Duck sit next to him after NG dog being 'Done'd to F.2 building... he is still very Inch in Year 1983-4 teaching me RS 29-05-1994, Albert Ng, soc.culture.hongkong (Usenet)
   The service was professional but very "inch". We were served by a Cantonese speaking local. The waiter asked if we wanted water without telling us it costs $75 for just water!! 2006-06-12, killgirl, OpenRice

verb

1. (Hong Kong, colloquial) to burn (to insult); to speak in a cocky and cheeky manner
   Sorry for changing the intention of the post last time; it was for nothing but the personal joy and satisfaction of "inch"-ing the person who criticized my writing while he/she can't even write. (no hard feelings, alright?!) I'd avoid that in the future. I'll try to make this a constructive discussion and be as objective as possible. 1994-03-04, tp...@vmsb.is.csupomona.edu, soc.culture.hongkong.entertainment (Usenet)