twinkle

• POS: Noun, Verb (usu participle)
• HYPHEN: twin=kle

CIDE DICTIONARY

twinkle, v. i. [OE. twinklen, AS. twinclian; akin to OE. twinken to blink, wink, G. zwinken, zwinkern, and perhaps to E. twitch.].

•  To open and shut the eye rapidly; to blink; to wink.  [1913 Webster]

  "The owl fell a moping and twinkling."  [1913 Webster]
•  To shine with an intermitted or a broken, quavering light; to flash at intervals; to sparkle; to scintillate.  [1913 Webster]

  "These stars do not twinkle when viewed through telescopes that have large apertures."  [1913 Webster]

  "The western sky twinkled with stars."  [1913 Webster]

twinkle, n. 

•  A closing or opening, or a quick motion, of the eye; a wink or sparkle of the eye.  [1913 Webster]

  "Suddenly, with twinkle of her eye,
  The damsel broke his misintended dart."  [1913 Webster]
•  A brief flash or gleam, esp. when rapidly repeated.  [1913 Webster]
•  The time of a wink; a twinkling.  Dryden.  [1913 Webster]

OXFORD DICTIONARY

twinkle, v. & n.
--v.
1 intr. (of a star or light etc.) shine with rapidly intermittent gleams.
2 intr. (of the eyes) sparkle.
3 intr. (of the feet in dancing) move lightly and rapidly.
4 tr. emit (a light or signal) in quick gleams.
5 tr. blink or wink (one's eyes).
--n.
1 a a sparkle or gleam of the eyes. b a blink or wink.
2 a slight flash of light; a glimmer.
3 a short rapid movement.

Idiom

in a twinkle (or a twinkling or the twinkling of an eye) in an instant.

Derivative

twinkler n. twinkly adj.

Etymology

OE twinclian

THESAURUS

twinkle

bat, blink, blinking, breath, coruscate, coruscating, coruscation, coup, crack, dance, dancing, dazzle, dazzling, firefly, flash, flashing, flicker, flickering, fulgurate, fulguration, gleam, gleaming, glimmer, glimmering, glint, glisk, glisten, glistening, glister, glitter, glittering, glowworm, half a jiffy, half a mo, half a second, half a shake, illuminate, instant, jiff, jiffy, light, light up, microsecond, millisecond, minute, moment, nictitate, scintilla, scintillate, scintillating, scintillation, sec, second, shake, shimmer, shimmering, shine, shining, spangle, spark, sparking, sparkle, sparkling, split second, stroboscopic light, stroke, tick, tinsel, trice, twink, twinkling, twitch, two shakes, wink, winking

ROGET THESAURUS

twinkle

Instantaneity

VB be instantaneous, twinkle, flash.

Light

VB shine, glow, glitter, glister, glisten, twinkle, gleam, flare, flare up, glare, beam, shimmer, glimmer, flicker, sparkle, scintillate, coruscate, flash, blaze, be bright, reflect light, daze, dazzle, bedazzle, radiate, shoot out beams, fulgurate, clear up, brighten, lighten, enlighten, levin, light, light up, irradiate, shine upon, give out a light, hang out a light, cast light upon, cast light in, throw light upon, throw light in, shed light upon, shed luster upon, illume, illumine, illuminate, relume, strike a light, kindle.

Dimness

VB be dim, grow dim, flicker, twinkle, glimmer, loom, lower, fade, pale, pale its ineffectual fire, render dim, dim, bedim, obscure, darken, tone down.