wince

See also: Wince

English

Etymology

Middle English wincen, winchen, from (deprecated template usage) [etyl]  *wenchir, (deprecated template usage) [etyl]  *wenchier (compare Old French guenchir), from (deprecated template usage) [etyl]  *wenkjan, from (deprecated template usage) [etyl] Proto-Germanic *wankjan. See also German winken.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /wɪns/

• Audio (US):

  (file)

• Rhymes: -ɪns

Noun

wince (plural winces)

1. A sudden movement or gesture of shrinking away.
2. A reel used in dyeing, steeping, or washing cloth; a winch. It is placed over the division wall between two wince pits so as to allow the cloth to descend into either compartment at will.

Translations

gesture of shrinking away

• Dutch: samentrekking (nl) f, stuip (nl) m
• Finnish: vavahdus (fi), sävähdys (fi), kavahdus
• German: Zusammenzucken n
• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}
• Romanian: fior (ro)
• Russian: вздра́гивание (ru) n (vzdrágivanije), содрога́ние (ru) n (sodrogánije)

Verb

1. (intransitive) To flinch as if in pain or distress.
   • William Shakespeare

     I will not stir, nor wince, nor speak a word.

   • 1918, W. B. Maxwell, chapter 17, in The Mirror and the Lamp:

     “Perhaps it is because I have been excommunicated. It's absurd, but I feel like the Jackdaw of Rheims.” ¶ She winced and bowed her head. Each time that he spoke flippantly of the Church he caused her pain.

   • 1935, Francis Beeding, “7/2”, in The Norwich Victims‎^[1]:

     The two Gordon setters came obediently to heel. Sir Oswald Feiling winced as he turned to go home. He had felt a warning twinge of lumbago.

2. (transitive) To wash (cloth), dip it in dye, etc., with the use of a wince.
3. To kick or flounce when unsteady or impatient.

   A horse winces.

Translations

to flinch as if in pain

• Dutch: samenkrimpen (nl), samentrekken (nl), stuipen (nl), huiveren (nl)
• Finnish: vavahtaa, kavahtaa (fi)
• French: grimacer (fr)
• German: zusammenzucken (de)
• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}
• Maori: maopo, koemi
• Norwegian: krympe seg
• Russian: вздра́гивать (ru) impf (vzdrágivatʹ), вздро́гнуть (ru) pf (vzdrógnutʹ), содрога́ться (ru) impf (sodrogátʹsja), содрогну́ться (ru) pf (sodrognútʹsja), мо́рщиться (ru) impf (mórščitʹsja), смо́рщиться (ru) pf (smórščitʹsja) (wrinkle, pucker)

to wash, dip in dye, etc., with the use of a wince

• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}

to kick or flounce

• Finnish: tempoilla, potkia (fi), tempoa
• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}

See also

• cringe