lint

Meanings

Noun

• Clinging fuzzy fluff that clings to fabric or accumulates in one's pockets or navel etc.
• A fine material made by scraping cotton or linen cloth; used for dressing wounds.
• The fibrous coat of thick hairs covering the seeds of the cotton plant.
• Raw cotton ready for baling.

Verb

• To perform a static check on (source code) to detect stylistic or programmatic errors.

Origin

• From Middle English lynet, linet, from Old French linette ("grain of flax"), diminutive of lin; or, from linteum, from Latin līnum ("flax").
• From the lint Unix utility, written in 1979, which analyses programs written in the C language, itself named after the undesirable bits of fiber and fluff found in sheep's wool (see etymology 1).