intimat-2 +
(Latin: to suggest indirectly, to hint)
intimate (IN tuh mayt")
1. To hint at something or let something be known in a quiet, indirect, or subtle way.
2. To announce something formally.
3. Etymology: from 1538, "to communicate" or "to notify"; later, "to suggest indirectly" (1590, in Spenser's
Faerie Queene); probably a back formation from
intimation, modeled on Late Latin
intimatus, past participle of
intimare, "to make known" or "to announce".
—The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology, Robert K. Barnhart, Editor;
The H.W. Wilson Company, 1988.
intimated (IN tuh may" tid)
Hinted; slightly mentioned or signified.
intimater (In tuh may" tuhr)
1. Someone who makes something known; especially, publicly or formally.
2. A person who announces something indirectly.
3. Anyone who communicates delicately and indirectly by hinting.
intimates (IN tuh mayts)
When someone implies something as a possibility.
intimation (in" tuh MAY shuhn)
1. A slight suggestion or vague understanding.
2. An indirect suggestion or hint.
3. An obscure or indirect suggestion or notice.
4. A declaration or remark communicating imperfect information: "Our friend left us without giving any previous intimation that he would never see us again."
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