Hint
early 17th century (in the sense ‘occasion, opportunity’): apparently from obsolete hent ‘grasp, get hold of’, from Old English hentan, of Germanic origin; related to hunt. The basic notion is ‘something that may be taken advantage of’.
wiktionary
From Middle English hinten, hynten, variant of henten(“to lay hold of, catch”), from Old English hentan(“to seize, grasp”), from Proto-Germanic *hantijaną. More at hent. Related to hunt.
etymonline
hint (n.)
c. 1600 (Shakespeare), "an indirect suggestion intended to be caught by the knowing," apparently from obsolete hent, from Middle English hinten "to tell, inform" (c. 1400), from Old English hentan "to seize," from Proto-Germanic *hantijan (source also of Gothic hinþan "to seize"), related to hunt (v.). OED dates the sense "small piece of practical information" to 1777.
hint (v.)
1640s, "suggest in an indirect manner," from hint (n.). Related: Hinted; hinting.
