wink

See also Wink

English

Etymology

From Middle English winken (strong verb) and Middle English winken (weak verb), from Old English *wincan (strong verb) and wincian (“to wink, make a sign, close the eyes, blink”, weak verb), from Proto-Germanic *winkaną (“to move side to side, sway”), *winkōną (“to close one's eyes”), from Proto-Indo-European *weng- (“to bow, bend, arch, curve”). Cognate with Middle Low German winken (“to blink, wink”), German winken (“to nod, beckon, make a sign”). Related also to East Frisian wäänke, Dutch wenken (“to beckon, motion”), Latin vacillare (“sway”), Lithuanian véngti (“to swerve, avoid”), Albanian  (vang, “tire, felloe”), Sanskrit  (vañcati, “he swaggers”).

Pronunciation

• IPA: /ˈwɪŋk/, X-SAMPA: /"wINk/

• Audio (US)

  (file)

• Rhymes: -ɪŋk

Verb

wink (third-person singular simple present winks, present participle winking, simple past and past participle winked)

1. (obsolete, intransitive) To close one's eyes.
2. (archaic, intransitive) To turn a blind eye.
   • 1621, Robert Burton, The Anatomy of Melancholy, New York Review of Books, 2001, p. 51:

     Some trot about to bear false witness, and say anything for money; and though judges know of it, yet for a bribe they wink at it, and suffer false contracts to prevail against equity.

3. (transitive, intransitive) To blink with only one eye as a message, signal, or suggestion.

   He winked at me.

   She winked her eye.

4. (intransitive) To twinkle.
5. (transitive) To send an indication of agreement by winking.

Translations

To blink with only one eye as a message, signal, or suggestion

• Bulgarian: please add this translation if you can
• Catalan: fer l'ullet (ca), picar l'ullet (ca)
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 眨眼 (cmn) (zhǎyǎn), 眨眼睛 (cmn) (zhǎ yǎnjīng), 眨 (cmn) (zhǎ)

• Czech: mrkat (cs)
• Danish: blinke (da)
• Dutch: knipogen (nl)
• Finnish: iskeä silmää (fi), vilkuttaa (fi)
• French: cligner des yeux (fr), faire un clin d'œil (fr)
• Georgian: please add this translation if you can
• German: zuzwinkern (de) (to somebody), zwinkern (de)

  Old High German: winchen

• Greek: κλείνω το μάτι (el) (klíno to máti)
• Icelandic: blikka (is)
• Japanese: 瞬く (ja) (またたく, matataku)
• Jèrriais: clyinn'ter, donner un clyîn, faithe un clyîn

• Latin: nicto (la), conniveo (la)
• Marathi: डोळा मारणे (mr) (ḍoḷā mārṇe)
• Old English: wincian (ang)
• Polish: mrugnąć (pl)
• Portuguese: piscar (pt), piscar o olho (pt)
• Quechua: ch'illmipakuy (qu), ch'ipihyay (qu)
• Romanian: please add this translation if you can
• Russian: подмигивать (ru) (podmígivat') impf., подмигнуть (ru) (podmignút') pf., мигать (ru) (migát') impf.
• Scottish Gaelic: priob (gd), caog (gd)
• Serbo-Croatian:

  Cyrillic: намигнути (sh)

  Roman: namignuti (sh)

• Spanish: guiñar (es)
• Tok Pisin: brukim ai (tpi)
• Turkish: göz kırpmak (tr), (() kaş göz etmek (tr)

To twinkle

• Czech: blikat (cs)
• Dutch: flonkeren (nl)
• Finnish: vilkkua (fi), tuikkia (fi)

• Russian: мерцать (ru) (mercát')
• Scottish Gaelic: priob (gd), caog (gd)
• Turkish: göz kırpmak (tr)

To send an indication of agreement by winking

• Dutch: knipogen (nl)

The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables, removing any numbers. Numbers do not necessarily match those in definitions. See instructions at Help:How to check translations.

Translations to be checked

• Spanish: guiñar, picar el ojo (colloquial)

Noun

act of winking

wink (plural winks)

1. An act of winking (a blinking of only one eye), or a message sent by winking.
2. A brief time; an instant.
3. A brief period of sleep; especially forty winks.
   • 1919, W. Somerset Maugham, The Moon and Sixpence, chapter 25

     I couldn't bear to leave him where he is. I shouldn't sleep a wink for thinking of him.

4. A disc used in the game of tiddlywinks.

Derived terms

• nudge nudge wink wink
• wink murder

Translations

a blink

• Aramaic:

  Syriac: ܪܦܦܐ (rpāpā’) m

  Hebrew: רפפא (rpāpā’) m

• Bulgarian: please add this translation if you can
• Dutch: knipoog (nl) m
• Finnish: silmänisku (fi)
• French: clin d’oeil (fr)
• Georgian: please add this translation if you can
• Icelandic: blikk (is) n
• Jèrriais: clyîn dg'yi m

• Romanian: please add this translation if you can
• Russian: подмигивание (ru) (podmígivanije) n
• Scottish Gaelic: caogadh (gd) m, priobadh (gd) m
• Serbo-Croatian:

  Cyrillic: ми̑г (sh) m

  Roman: mȋg (sh) m

• Spanish: guiño (es) m
• Telugu: రెప్పపాటు (te)
• Turkish: please add this translation if you can

an instant

• Aramaic:

  Syriac: ܪܦܦܐ (rpāpā’) m

  Hebrew: רפפא (rpāpā’) m

• Dutch: ogenblik (nl) n
• Finnish: silmänräpäys (fi)

• Italian: attimo (it) m
• Russian: миг (ru) (mig) m
• Scottish Gaelic: priobadh (gd) m
• Telugu: రెప్పపాటు (te)

a period of sleep — see forty winks

game piece

The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables, removing any numbers. Numbers do not necessarily match those in definitions. See instructions at Help:How to check translations.

Translations to be checked

• Georgian: ციმციმი (ka) (c'imc'imi)

• Lithuanian: sumirkseti (lt)

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German

Pronunciation

• IPA: /vɪŋk/

Verb

wink

1. Imperative singular of winken.
2. (colloquial) First-person singular present of winken.