Meaning

noun a unit of length equal to one twelfth of a foot

noun a rare soft silvery metallic element; occurs in small quantities in sphalerite

noun a state in midwestern United States

originPIE word *h₁en Preposition and verb from Middle English in, from Old English in, from Proto-Germanic *in. Adverb, noun and adjective from Middle English in, from Old English inn and inne, from Proto-Germanic *innai. Sense 1/2 "in"/"into" are from the original PIE prefix, with locative/accusative case respectively. Sense 3/4 "qualification"/"means" are from the PIE metaphor of all infinitives…

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 3.0