Definition:Inch/Linguistic Note

Linguistic Note on Inch
The word inch derives ultimately from the same root as ounce, that is, from the Latin word uncia, meaning $\dfrac 1 {12}$ part.

In this context, the inch is of course the $\dfrac 1 {12}$ part of a foot.

From the same root, the uncial letters of a mediaeval manuscript are letters which are an inch high.

Despite the gradual migration to the metric system, the word inch still lives on as a rhetorical flourish for a small distance, for example:


 * Slowly and steadily they inched forward ...


 * Give him an inch and he'll take a mile.