hinge

C2+ Topic:Tools, Machines & Construction

US /hɪndʒ/ UK /hɪndʒ/ See IPA manual

Meanings

1

noun
a jointed device on which a door turns; to depend on something

The whole plan hinges on the weather holding fair.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

1 noun · a jointed device on which a... joint pivot articulation depend hang rest turn

Word family

Derived forms hingedunhinge

Related forms hang

Simplified etymology

Hinge entered English in the Middle English period and is closely related to hang. The connection reflects the function of a hinge as the fitting on which a door is hung.

Etymology

From Middle English henge, related to hangen ('to hang'); from the notion of the part on which a door hangs and turns.

henge Middle English *hanhaną Proto-Germanic

View etymology graph ->

Topics

Tools, Machines & Construction

External links

# hinge

**Type:** Word
**Level:** C2+
**Part of speech:** noun
**IPA (US):** /hɪndʒ/
**IPA (UK):** /hɪndʒ/

## Meanings
1. a jointed device on which a door turns; to depend on something

## Examples
- The whole plan hinges on the weather holding fair.

## Synonyms
- joint
- pivot
- articulation
- depend
- hang
- rest
- turn

## Derived Forms
- hinged
- unhinge

## Related Forms
- hang

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: henge
- Root: *hanhaną

## Etymology
From Middle English henge, related to hangen ('to hang'); from the notion of the part on which a door hangs and turns.

## AI Etymology
hinge comes from Middle English henge, related to hangen ('to hang'); from the notion of the part on which a door hangs and turns. The history explains the modern form through the named earlier word or formation, without requiring a separate speculative ancestry. In present English, the noun sense is "a jointed device on which a door turns; to depend on something", so the historical development ends in a clearly identifiable modern dictionary use. The same base also appears in related forms such as hang, and in derivatives such as hinged and unhinge. Its semantic neighborhood includes joint, pivot, articulation, and depend, which helps locate the modern sense without adding a separate etymological claim. The named historical forms include Middle English henge and Proto-Germanic *hanhaną.

## Topics
- Tools, Machines & Construction

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