dint

Concise Oxford English Dictionary © 2008 Oxford University Press:
dint/dɪnt/

▶noun

• 1 an impression or hollow in a surface.

• 2 archaic a blow or stroke.

▶verb mark with dints.

– phrases
by dint of by means of.

– origin OE dynt, reinforced in ME by the rel. ON word dyntr; cf. dent.