wink

English

/ˈwɪŋk/

verb
Definitions
  • (obsolete) To close one's eyes in sleep.
  • (intransitive) To close one's eyes.
  • (intransitive) Usually followed by at: to look the other way, to turn a blind eye.
  • (intransitive) To close one's eyes quickly and involuntarily; to blink.
  • (transitive) To blink with only one eye as a message, signal, or suggestion, usually with an implication of conspiracy. (When transitive, the object may be the eye being winked, or the message being conveyed.)
  • (intransitive) To gleam fitfully or intermitently; to twinkle; to flicker.

Etymology

Inherited from Middle English winken, winken inherited from Old English *wincan inherited from Proto-Germanic *winkaną (sway, move side to side) derived from Proto-Indo-European *weng- (bow, arch, curve, bend).

Origin

Proto-Indo-European

*weng-

Gloss

bow, arch, curve, bend

Concept
Semantic Field

Warfare and hunting

Ontological Category

Person/Thing

Kanji

曲

Emoji
🙇‍♀️ 🙇‍♂️ 🎻 🏹 🙇 🙏 🧝

Timeline

Distribution of cognates by language

Geogrpahic distribution of cognates

Cognates and derived terms