Meaning

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

noun a unit of measurement for advertising space

verb advance slowly, as if by inches

originFrom Middle English ynche, enche, from Old English ynċe, borrowed from Latin uncia (“Roman inch, various similar units”), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *óynos (“one”). Cognate with Middle Dutch enke (“thumb, thumb's width, inch”). Doublet of ounce, uncia, onça, onza, oka, ouguiya, and awqiyyah.

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 3.0