wink

• POS: Noun, Verb (intransitive), Verb (transitive)

CIDE DICTIONARY

wink, v. i. [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, wanchn to waver, G. wanken, and perhaps to E. weak; cf. AS. wincel a corner. Cf. Wench, Wince, v. i.].

•  To nod; to sleep; to nap.  Chaucer.  [1913 Webster]
•  To shut the eyes quickly; to close the eyelids with a quick motion.  [1913 Webster]

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

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

  "They are not blind, but they wink."  [1913 Webster]
•  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."  [1913 Webster]
•  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."  [1913 Webster]
•  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."  [1913 Webster]

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

  "Obstinacy can not be winked at, but must be subdued."  [1913 Webster]
•  To be dim and flicker; as, the light winks.  [1913 Webster]

Winking monkey (Zoöl.), the white-nosed monkey (Cersopithecus nictitans).

wink, v. t. 

 To cause (the eyes) to wink.  [1913 Webster]

wink, n. 

•  The act of closing, or closing and opening, the eyelids quickly; hence, the time necessary for such an act; a moment.  [1913 Webster]

  "I have not slept one wink."  [1913 Webster]

  "I could eclipse and cloud them with a wink."  [1913 Webster]
•  A hint given by shutting the eye with a significant cast.  Sir. P. Sidney.  [1913 Webster]

  "The stockjobber thus from Change Alley goes down,
  And tips you, the freeman, a wink."  [1913 Webster]

OXFORD DICTIONARY

wink, v. & n.
--v.
1 a tr. close and open (one eye or both eyes) quickly. b intr. close and open an eye.
2 intr. (often foll. by at) wink one eye as a signal of friendship or greeting or to convey a message to a person.
3 intr. (of a light etc.) twinkle; shine or flash intermittently.
--n.
1 the act or an instance of winking, esp. as a signal etc.
2 colloq. a brief moment of sleep (didn't sleep a wink).

Idiom

as easy as winking colloq. very easy. in a wink very quickly. wink at 1 purposely avoid seeing; pretend not to notice.
2 connive at (a wrongdoing etc.).

Etymology

OE wincian f. Gmc: cf. WINCE(1), WINCH

THESAURUS

wink

Roman candle, aid to navigation, alarm, amber light, balefire, bat, bat the eyes, beacon, beacon fire, beat the drum, bell, bell buoy, blanket drill, blink, blinker, blue peter, breath, broad hint, buoy, cast, cat nap, caution light, clue, coup, crack, cue, dash, dip, exchange colors, flag, flag down, flare, flash, flutter, fog bell, fog signal, fog whistle, foghorn, forty winks, gentle hint, gesture, give a signal, give the nod, glance, glimmer, glimmering, glimpse, go light, gong buoy, green light, hail, hail and speak, half a jiffy, half a mo, half a second, half a shake, half an eye, half-mast, heliograph, high sign, hint, hoist a banner, implication, index, indication, inkling, innuendo, insinuation, instant, international alphabet flag, international numeral pennant, intimation, jiff, jiffy, kick, leer, look, make a sign, marker beacon, microsecond, millisecond, minute, moment, nap, nictitate, nod, nudge, parachute flare, peek, peep, pilot flag, poke, police whistle, prompt, quarantine flag, quick sight, radio beacon, raise a cry, rapid glance, red flag, red light, rocket, sailing aid, salute, scent, sec, second, semaphore, semaphore flag, semaphore telegraph, shade, shake, siesta, sign, signal, signal beacon, signal bell, signal fire, signal flag, signal gong, signal gun, signal lamp, signal light, signal mast, signal post, signal rocket, signal shot, signal siren, signal tower, signalize, slant, smack, snooze, sound an alarm, sound the trumpet, soupcon, spar buoy, speak, split second, spoor, spot of sleep, squinch, squint, squiz, stop light, stroke, suggestion, suspicion, symptom, telltale, the nod, the wink, tick, touch, trace, track, traffic light, traffic signal, trice, twink, twinkle, twinkling, twitch, two shakes, unfurl a flag, watch fire, wave, wave a flag, wave the hand, whisper, white flag, wigwag, wigwag flag, wink of sleep, yellow flag

ROGET THESAURUS

wink

Blindness

VB be blind, not see, lose sight of, have the eyes bandaged, grope in the dark, not look, close the eyes, shut the eyes-, turn away the eyes, avert the eyes, look another way, wink, shut the eyes to, be blind to, wink at, blink at, render blind, blind, blindfold, hoodwink, dazzle, put one's eyes out, throw dust into one's eyes, pull the wool over one's eyes, jeter de la poudre aux yeux, screen from sight.

Dimsightedness

VB be dimsighted, see double, have a mote in the eye, have a mist before the eyes, have a film over the eyes, see through a prism, see through a glass darkly, wink, blink, nictitate, squint, look askant, askant askance, screw up the eyes, glare, glower, nictate, dazzle, loom.

Indication

N indication, symbolism, symbolization, semiology, semiotics, semeiology, semeiotics, Zeitgeist, characteristic, diagnostic, lineament, feature, trait, fingerprint, voiceprint, footprint, noseprint, cloven hoof, footfall, recognition (memory), diagnostic, divining rod, detector, sign, symbol, index, indice, indicator, point, pointer, exponent, note, token, symptom, dollar sign, dollar mark, type, figure, emblem, cipher, device, representation, epigraph, motto, posy, gesture, gesticulation, pantomime, wink, glance, leer, nod, shrug, beck, touch, nudge, dactylology, dactylonomy, freemasonry, telegraphy, chirology, byplay, dumb show, cue, hint, clue, clew, key, scent, signal, signal post, rocket, blue light, watch fire, watch tower, telegraph, semaphore, flagstaff, cresset, fiery cross, calumet, heliograph, guidon, headlight, mark, scratch, line, stroke, dash, score, stripe, streak, tick, dot, point, notch, nick, print, imprint, impress, impression, keyboard symbols, printing symbols, red letter, italics, sublineation, underlining, bold font, jotting, note, annotation, reference, blaze, cedilla, guillemets, hachure, quotation marks, ", double quotes, " ", parentheses, "( )", brackets, "", braces, "", left arrow, "<", right arrow, ">", forward slash, "/", backward slash, "\", exclamation point, "!", commercial at, "@", pound sign, "#", percent sign, "%", carat, "", ampersand, "&", asterisk, "*", hyphen, "-", dash, "-", "_", em dash, "--", plus sign, "+", equals sign, "=", question mark, "?", period, ", ", semicolon, ", ", colon, ":", comma, ", ", apostrophe, "'", single quote, "'", tilde, "~", badge, criterion, countercheck, countermark, countersign, counterfoil, duplicate, tally, label, ticket, billet, letter, counter, check, chip, chop, dib, totem, tessera, card, bill, witness, voucher, stamp, cacher, trade mark, Hall mark, signature, mark, autograph, autography, attestation, hand, hand writing, sign manual, cipher, seal, sigil, signet, hand and seal, paraph, brand, superscription, indorsement, endorsement, password, watchword, catchword, security card, pass, passkey, credentials, open sesame, timbrology, mot de passe, mot du guet, pass-parole, shibboleth, title, heading, docket, address card, visiting card, carte de visite, insignia, banner, banneret, bannerol, bandrol, flag, colors, streamer, standard, eagle, labarum, oriflamb, oriflamme, figurehead, ensign, pennon, pennant, pendant, burgee, blue Peter, jack, ancient, gonfalon, union jack, banderole, old glory, quarantine flag, vexillum, yellow-flag, yellow jack, tricolor, stars and stripes, bunting, heraldry, crest, coat of arms, arms, armorial bearings, hatchment, escutcheon, scutcheon, shield, supporters, livery, uniform, cockade, epaulet, chevron, garland, love knot, favor, beacon, cairn, post, staff, flagstaff, hand, pointer, vane, cock, weathercock, guidepost, handpost, fingerpost, directing post, signpost, pillars of Hercules, pharos, bale-fire, beacon-fire, l'etoile du Nord, landmark, seamark, lighthouse, balize, polestar, loadstar, lodestar, cynosure, guide, address, direction, name, sign, signboard, warning, omen, prefigurement, trace, record, warning &c, alarm, scepter, trophy, gauge, milestone, milepost, brand, fool's cap, check, telltale, test, mileage ticket, milliary, notification, advertisement, word of command, call, bugle call, trumpet call, bell, alarum, cry, battle cry, rallying cry, angelus, reveille, sacring bell, sanctus bell, exposition &c (explanation), proof, pattern, indicating, indicative, indicatory, denotative, connotative, diacritical, representative, typical, symbolic, pantomimic, pathognomonic, symptomatic, characteristic, demonstrative, diagnostic, exponential, emblematic, armorial, individual, known by, recognizable by, indicated, pointed, marked, denotable, indelible, in token of, symbolically, in dumb show, ecce signum, ex ungue leonem, ex pede Herculem, vide ut supra, vultus ariete fortior.

VB indicate, be the sign, of, denote, betoken, argue, testify, bear the impress, of, connote, connotate, represent, stand for, typify, symbolize, put an indication, put a mark, note, mark, stamp, earmark, blaze, label, ticket, docket, dot, spot, score, dash, trace, chalk, print, imprint, impress, engrave, stereotype, make a sign, signalize, underscore, give a signal, hang out a signal, beckon, nod, wink, glance, leer, nudge, shrug, tip the wink, gesticulate, raise the finger, hold up the finger, raise the hand, hold up the hand, saw the air, suit the action to the word, wave a banner, unfurl a banner, hoist a banner, hang out a banner, wave the hand, wave a kerchief, give the cue, show one's colors, give an alarm, sound an alarm, beat the drum, sound the trumpets, raise a cry, sign, seal, attest, underline, call attention to, give notice.