1894 Brewer’s / D / Dint
By dint of war; by dint of argument; by dint of hard work. Dint means a blow or striking (Anglo-Saxon, dynt); whence perseverance, power exerted, force; it also means the indentation made by a blow.
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Entry taken from Dictionary of Phrase and Fable, edited by the Rev. E. Cobham Brewer, LL.D. and revised in 1895.