Winking

Wink Wink, v. i. [imp. & p. p. {Winked}; p. pr. & vb. n. {Winking}.] [OE. winken, AS. wincian; akin to D. wenken, G. winken to wink, nod, beckon, OHG. winchan, Sw. vinka, Dan. vinke, AS. wancol wavering, OHG. wanchal wavering, wanch?n to waver, G. wanken, and perhaps to E. weak; cf. AS. wincel a corner. Cf. {Wench}, {Wince}, v. i.] [1913 Webster] 1. To nod; to sleep; to nap. [Obs.] ``Although I wake or wink.'' --Chaucer. [1913 Webster]

2. To shut the eyes quickly; to close the eyelids with a quick motion. [1913 Webster]

He must wink, so loud he would cry. --Chaucer. [1913 Webster]

And I will wink, so shall the day seem night. --Shak. [1913 Webster]

They are not blind, but they wink. --Tillotson. [1913 Webster]

3. To close and open the eyelids quickly; to nictitate; to blink. [1913 Webster]

A baby of some three months old, who winked, and turned aside its little face from the too vivid light of day. --Hawthorne. [1913 Webster]

4. To give a hint by a motion of the eyelids, often those of one eye only. [1913 Webster]

Wink at the footman to leave him without a plate. --Swift. [1913 Webster]

5. To avoid taking notice, as if by shutting the eyes; to connive at anything; to be tolerant; -- generally with at. [1913 Webster]

The times of this ignorance God winked at. --Acts xvii. 30. [1913 Webster]

And yet, as though he knew it not, His knowledge winks, and lets his humors reign. --Herbert. [1913 Webster]

Obstinacy can not be winked at, but must be subdued. --Locke. [1913 Webster]

6. To be dim and flicker; as, the light winks. [1913 Webster]

{Winking monkey} (Zo["o]l.), the white-nosed monkey ({Cersopithecus nictitans}). [1913 Webster]