Source : Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913)

Dint \Dint\, n. [OE. dint, dent, dunt, a blow, AS. dynt; akin to
   Icel. dyntr a dint, dynta to dint, and perh. to L. fendere
   (in composition). Cf. 1st {Dent}, {Defend}.]
   1. A blow; a stroke. [Obs.] ``Mortal dint.'' --Milton. ``Like
      thunder's dint.'' --Fairfax.

   2. The mark left by a blow; an indentation or impression made
      by violence; a dent. --Dryden.

            Every dint a sword had beaten in it [the shield].
                                                  --Tennyson.

   3. Force; power; -- esp. in the phrase by dint of.

            Now you weep; and, I perceive, you feel The dint of
            pity.                                 --Shak.

            It was by dint of passing strength That he moved the
            massy stone at length.                --Sir W.
                                                  Scott.

Dint \Dint\, v. t. [imp. & p. p. {Dinted}; p. pr. & vb. n.
   {Dinting}.]
   To make a mark or cavity on or in, by a blow or by pressure;
   to dent. --Donne. Tennyson.

Source : WordNet®

dint
     n : interchangeable with `means' in the expression `by dint of'