blink

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English

Etymology

From Middle English blynken, blenken, from Old English *blincan (suggested by causative verb blenċan (“to deceive”); > English blench), from Proto-Germanic *blinkaną, a variant of *blīkaną (“to gleam, shine”). Cognate with Dutch blinken (“to glitter, shine”), German blinken (“to flash, blink”), Danish blinke (“to flash, twinkle, wink”), Swedish blinka (“to flash, blink, twinkle, wink”). Related to blank, blick, blike, bleak.

Pronunciation

Verb

blink (third-person singular simple present blinks, present participle blinking, simple past and past participle blinked)

Example of a blinking human eye (slow-motion)
  1. (intransitive) To close and reopen both eyes quickly.
    The loser in the staring game is the person who blinks first.
    1. (transitive) To close and reopen one's eyes to remove (something) from on or around the eyes.
      She blinked her tears away.
    2. To wink; to twinkle with, or as with, the eye.
      • (Can we date this quote by Alexander Pope and provide title, author’s full name, and other details?)
        One eye was blinking, and one leg was lame.
    3. To see with the eyes half shut, or indistinctly and with frequent winking, as a person with weak eyes.
      • (Can we date this quote by Shakespeare and provide title, author’s full name, and other details?)
        Show me thy chink, to blink through with mine eyne.
    4. To shine, especially with intermittent light; to twinkle; to flicker; to glimmer, as a lamp.
      • (Can we date this quote by Wordsworth and provide title, author’s full name, and other details?)
        The dew was falling fast, the stars began to blink.
      • (Can we date this quote by Sir Walter Scott and provide title, author’s full name, and other details?)
        The sun blinked fair on pool and stream.
  2. To flash on and off at regular intervals.
    The blinking text on the screen was distracting.
    1. To flash headlights on a car at.
      An urban legend claims that gang members will attack anyone who blinks them.
    2. To send a signal with a lighting device.
      Don't come to the door until I blink twice.
  3. (hyperbolic) To perform the smallest action that could solicit a response.
    • 1980, Billy Joel, “Don't Ask Me Why”, Glass Houses, Columbia Records
      All the waiters in your grand cafe / Leave their tables when you blink.
  4. (transitive) To shut out of sight; to evade; to shirk.
    to blink the question
  5. (Scotland) To trick; to deceive.
    (Can we find and add a quotation of Jamieson to this entry?)
  6. To turn slightly sour, or blinky, as beer, milk, etc.
  7. (science fiction, video games) To teleport, mostly for short distances.

Synonyms

  • (close and open both eyes quickly): nictitate

Translations

The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.

Noun

blink (plural blinks)

  1. The act of very quickly closing both eyes and opening them again.
  2. (figuratively) The time needed to close and reopen one's eyes.
  3. (computing) A text formatting feature that causes text to disappear and reappear as a form of visual emphasis.
    • 2007, Cheryl D. Wise, Foundations of Microsoft Expression Web: The Basics and Beyond (page 150)
      I can think of no good reason to use blink because blinking text and images are annoying, they mark the creator as an amateur, and they have poor browser support.
  4. A glimpse or glance.
    • (Can we date this quote by Bishop Hall and provide title, author’s full name, and other details?)
      This is the first blink that ever I had of him.
  5. (UK, dialect) gleam; glimmer; sparkle
    • (Can we date this quote by Wordsworth and provide title, author’s full name, and other details?)
      Not a blink of light was there.
    (Can we find and add a quotation of Sir Walter Scott to this entry?)
  6. (nautical) The dazzling whiteness about the horizon caused by the reflection of light from fields of ice at sea; iceblink
  7. (sports, in the plural) Boughs cast where deer are to pass, in order to turn or check them.
  8. (video games) An ability that allows teleporting, mostly for short distances

Translations

The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.

Danish

Verb

blink

  1. (deprecated template usage) imperative of blinke

Dutch

Pronunciation

  • Audio:(file)
  • Rhymes: -ɪŋk

Verb

blink

  1. (deprecated template usage) first-person singular present indicative of blinken
  2. (deprecated template usage) imperative of blinken

German

Verb

blink

  1. (deprecated template usage) Imperative singular of blinken.
  2. (colloquial) (deprecated template usage) First-person singular present of blinken.

Norwegian Bokmål

Norwegian Wikipedia has an article on:
Wikipedia no

Etymology

From the verb blinke

Pronunciation

Noun

blink m (definite singular blinken, indefinite plural blinker, definite plural blinkene)

  1. a target, bullseye
    treffe midt i blinken ― hit the bullseye

Synonyms

Derived terms

Noun

blink n

  1. lightning

Derived terms

See also

Verb

blink

  1. imperative of blinke

References

Norwegian Nynorsk

Norwegian Nynorsk Wikipedia has an article on:
Wikipedia nn

Etymology

From the verb blinke

Noun

blink m (definite singular blinken, indefinite plural blinkar, definite plural blinkane)

  1. a target, bullseye

Synonyms

Derived terms

Verb

blink

  1. imperative of blinka and blinke

References

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