wink 1
— winkingly , adv.
/wingk/ , v.i.
1. to close and open one or both eyes quickly.
2. to close and open one eye quickly as a hint or signal or with some sly meaning (often fol. by at ): She winked at him across the room.
3. (of the eyes) to close and open thus; blink.
4. to shine with little flashes of light; twinkle: The city lights winked in the distance.
v.t.
5. to close and open (one or both eyes) quickly; execute or give (a wink).
6. to drive or force by winking (usually fol. by back or away ): She attempted to wink back the tears.
7. to signal or convey by a wink.
8. wink at , to ignore deliberately, as to avoid the necessity of taking action: to wink at minor offenses.
n.
9. an act of winking.
10. a winking movement, esp. of one eye in giving a hint or signal.
11. a hint or signal given by winking.
12. the time required for winking once; an instant or twinkling: I'll be there in a wink.
13. a little flash of light; twinkle.
14. the least bit: I didn't sleep a wink last night.
[ bef. 900; (v.) ME winken, OE wincian; c. G winken to wave, signal; (n.) ME: nap, deriv. of the v. ]
Syn. 1. WINK, BLINK refer to rapid motions of the eyelid. TO WINK is to close and open either one or both eyelids with a rapid motion. TO BLINK suggests a sleepy, dazed, or dazzled condition in which it is difficult to focus the eyes or see clearly: Bright sun makes one blink. 4. sparkle.
wink 2
/wingk/ , n. Games.
a disk or similar small object used in tiddlywinks.
[ 1890-95; extracted from TIDDLYWINKS ]