Unnumbered source etymology
Original entry ↗To close and reopen both eyes quickly. · To close and reopen one's eyes to remove (something) from on or around the eyes. · To wink; to twinkle with, or as with, the eye. · To see with the eyes half shut, or indistinctly and with frequent winking, as a person with weak eyes.
The act of quickly closing both eyes and opening them again. · The time needed to close and reopen one's eyes. · A text formatting feature that causes text to disappear and reappear as a form of visual emphasis. · A glimpse or glance.
From Middle English blynken, blenken, from Old English *blincan (suggested by causative verb blenċan (“to deceive”); > English blench), from Proto-Germanic *blinkaną, a variant of *blīkaną (“to gleam, shine”). Cognate with Dutch blinken (“to glitter, shine”), German blinken (“to flash, blink”), Danish blinke (“to flash, twinkle, wink, blink”), Swedish blinka (“to flash, blink, twinkle, wink, blink”). Related to blank, blick, blike, bleak.
Relationships mentioned by the source
These are extracted mentions, not a timeline or a verified sequence of immediate parents.
- Inherited-form mentionblynkenenm
- Inherited-form mention*blincanang
- Cognate mentionblenchen
- Inherited-form mention*blinkanągem-pro
- Cognate mentionblinkennl · to glitter, shine
- Cognate mentionblinkende · to flash, blink
- Cognate mentionblinkeda · to flash, twinkle, wink, blink
- Cognate mentionblinkasv · to flash, blink, twinkle, wink, blink
This page abbreviates 15 auxiliary source items. The etymology narrative is not shortened. Omission counts are available in the audit fields below; consult the original for complete auxiliary material.
Inspect preserved source fields
Raw extraction fields are retained for auditing. Their order does not establish ancestry.
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"3": "blynken"
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"expansion": "Middle English blynken"
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{
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{
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"2": "blench"
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"3": "*blinkaną"
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"t": "to glitter, shine"
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"expansion": "Dutch blinken (“to glitter, shine”)"
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"t": "to flash, blink"
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"expansion": "German blinken (“to flash, blink”)"
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"expansion": "Danish blinke (“to flash, twinkle, wink, blink”)"
},
{
"name": "cog",
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"2": "blinka",
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},
"expansion": "Swedish blinka (“to flash, blink, twinkle, wink, blink”)"
}
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"blynken#Middle_English"
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"To close and reopen both eyes quickly.",
"To close and reopen one's eyes to remove (something) from on or around the eyes.",
"To wink; to twinkle with, or as with, the eye.",
"To see with the eyes half shut, or indistinctly and with frequent winking, as a person with weak eyes."
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"The act of quickly closing both eyes and opening them again.",
"The time needed to close and reopen one's eyes.",
"A text formatting feature that causes text to disappear and reappear as a form of visual emphasis.",
"A glimpse or glance."
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