intimation comes from Late Latin intimatio ('an announcement'), from intimare ('to make known, announce'), from intimus ('innermost'). The path is chiefly one of transmission: the word passes through the named languages and forms, with each stage preserving part of the modern shape. In present English, the noun sense is "an indirect suggestion or hint; an announcement", so the historical development ends in a clearly identifiable modern dictionary use. The same base also appears in related forms such as intimate and intimacy. Its semantic neighborhood includes hint, suggestion, indication, and insinuation, which helps locate the modern sense without adding a separate etymological claim. The named historical forms include Latin intimatio and Latin intimus.