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hinge (hĭnj)
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n.
1.
a. A jointed or flexible device that allows the turning or pivoting of a part, such as a door or lid, on a stationary frame.
b. A similar structure or part, such as one that enables the valves of a bivalve mollusk to open and close.
2. A small folded paper rectangle gummed on one side, used especially to fasten stamps in an album.
3. A point or circumstance on which subsequent events depend.
v. hinged, hing·ing, hing·es
v.tr.
1. To attach by or equip with or as if with hinges or a hinge.
2. To consider or make (something) dependent on something else; predicate: "convenient and misleading fictions for hinging an argument" (Stephen Jay Gould).
v.intr.
To be contingent on a single factor; depend: This plan hinges on her approval.
[Middle English henge; see konk- in the Appendix of Indo-European roots.]
(click for a larger image)
hinge
left: strap hinge
right: T-hinge
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition copyright ©2022 by HarperCollins Publishers. All rights reserved.
 

Indo-European & Semitic Roots Appendices

    Thousands of entries in the dictionary include etymologies that trace their origins back to reconstructed proto-languages. You can obtain more information about these forms in our online appendices:

    Indo-European Roots

    Semitic Roots

    The Indo-European appendix covers nearly half of the Indo-European roots that have left their mark on English words. A more complete treatment of Indo-European roots and the English words derived from them is available in our Dictionary of Indo-European Roots.

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