Emily Dickinson Lexicon

inch, n. [OE ynce < L. 'twelfth part'.] (webplay: foot, measure).

1. very small measure or distance.
2. A linear measurement in Great Britain and the United States, being the twelfth part of a foot.
3. A precise point of time.
4. Close at hand; any instant; (at inches).
5. A small piece or fragment.
6. [Fig.] Measurement of pressure
7. [Webplay] A small quantity or degree; Proverbially to die by inches.