Meaning

noun an appreciable consequence (especially a lessening)

noun a depression scratched or carved into a surface

noun an impression in a surface (as made by a blow)

originFrom Middle English dent, dente, dint (“a blow; strike; dent”), from Old English dynt (“blow, strike, the mark or noise of a blow”), from Proto-Germanic *duntiz (“a blow”). Akin to Old Norse dyntr (“dint”). Doublet of dint.

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 3.0