/ingk"ling/ , n.
1. a slight suggestion or indication; hint; intimation: They hadn't given us an inkling of what was going to happen.
2. a vague idea or notion; slight understanding: They didn't have an inkling of how the new invention worked.
[ 1505-15; obs. inkle to hint (ME inklen ) + -ING 1 ; akin to OE inca suspicion ]