Etymology: < Old French pinnon, Old French, Middle French pignon, Middle French pingnon pinnacle, mountain peak (a1176), upper part of a wall, gable (a1211; French pignon ) < an unattested post-classical Latin derivative of classical Latin pinna battlement, pinnacle (see pin n.¹). Compare Old Occitan pinhon (14th cent.; probably < French; Occitan pinhon).It is unclear whether the following earlier example is to be interpreted as showing the Middle English or the Anglo-Norman word:1278 Bursar's Rolls, Merton Coll. in Archæol. Jrnl. (1846) 2 142 Item, ij s. v d. liberat. predicto Nicholao pro xiij pedibus de pynun table.

Etymology: < Anglo-Norman pignun, pinnon, variants of penun, and Middle French pignon, variant of pennon pennon n.; these variants are perhaps due to association with pignon pinion n.¹; in French there is apparently no particular association of these variants with the sense ‘feather’. Compare Anglo-Norman enpenoun and Middle French empenon, empeignon one of the first four small flight feathers of the wing in falcons, feather of an arrow (13th cent. in Old French; French †empennon), Old Occitan pinho (13th cent.), Spanish piñón small flight feather (1558 in this sense; < French).

Etymology: Origin uncertain; perhaps compare pinion n.² or pennon n.

Etymology: < French pignon the smaller of a pair of cog wheels engaged with one another (1328 in Middle French as paingnon ), a cog wheel with a limited number of teeth in watchmaking (mid or second half of the 14th cent.) < peigne comb (a1181 in Old French as piegne in an early 13th-cent. copy (see note); < classical Latin pecten comb: see pecten n.) + -on -oon suffix. Compare Old Occitan pinhon tooth of a cog wheel (1427; Occitan penhon, pinhon).The vowel of French peigne has been influenced by peigner to comb (see peignoir n.); compare also Middle French forms such as peignon, paingnon. Forms such as French pignon and Old French pigne, piegne retain the inherited vowel.

Etymology: Apparently < French pignon, variant of peignon (although this is first attested later in this sense: 1726 as peignon ; earlier in sense ‘matter removed during carding of hemp’ (1680 as pignon ); compare laine peignon refuse wool (1723)) < peigner to comb, to card textile fibres (a1187 in this sense: see peignoir n.) + -on -oon suffix.

Etymology: < pinion n.² Compare post-classical Latin pignonare to pinion swans (1285 in a British source).Sense 2 is likely to have been the original meaning in English.