An Etymological Dictionary of the German Language/Kinn
Kinn, n., ‘chin,’ from the equiv. MidHG. kin, kinne, OHG. chinni, n. (also ‘jaw’). The older meaning, ‘cheek’ (Goth. kinnus, f., ‘cheek’), has been preserved in Kinnbein, ‘cheek-bone,’ in OHG. chinnizan, MidHG. kinnezan, ‘molar tooth,’ OHG. kinnibaccho, ‘jawbone’; comp. AS. čin, E. chin, AS. činbân, E. chin-bone, ModDu. kin, f., ‘chin’; OIc. kinn, ‘cheek.’ Comp. Gr. γένυς, f., ‘chin, jaw, jawbone,’ also ‘edge of an axe, axe,’ γένειον, n., ‘chin, jaw,’ γενείας, f., ‘chin, beard’; Lat. gena, ‘cheek,’ dentes genuini, ‘molar teeth’; Ir. gin, ‘mouth’; Sans. hánu-s, f., ‘jaw,’ hanavýa, ‘jawbone.’ Hence the meaning varies considerably between cheek, jaw, chin; the prim. sense of the root gen in this term cannot be ascertained. On account of the Gr. meaning ‘axe’ some deduce the word from a root gen, ‘to cut to pieces.’