Where does “wink” come from?
Wink comes from Middle English winken, whose ultimate origin and meaning remain uncertain.
wink (English): To close one's eyes in sleep; To close one's...
Definitions
- To close one's eyes in sleep; To close one's...
Ancestry of “wink”, step by step
wink traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.
via English periwinkle
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | periwinkle | Any of several evergreen plants of the genus... |
| 2 | Middle English | pinewinkle | — |
| 3 | Old English | pīnewincle | — |
| 4 | Latin | pina | sea pen |
| 5 | Ancient Greek | πίνη | pen shell; pearl shell, pearl |
| 6 | Ancient Greek | τηρέω | to watch over, take care of, guard; to have an... |
| 7 | Ancient Greek | -έω | Used to form verbs from nouns, adjectives and... |
| 8 | Proto-Indo-European | -éyeti | Forms causative imperfective verbs from roots;... |
| 9 | Proto-Indo-European | -yeti | Creates transitive imperfective verbs from roots |
via Middle English wynken
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Middle English | wynken | To close the eyes; to blink |
| 2 | Old English | wincian | to close the eyes; blink; to wink; make a sign;... |
| 3 | Proto-West Germanic | winkōn | to blink, wink, close one's eyes; to wave, nod |
| 4 | Proto-West Germanic | -ōn | Creates denominative verbs from nouns; Creates... |
| 5 | Proto-Germanic | -ōną | Creates denominative verbs from nouns; Creates... |
| 6 | Proto-Indo-European | -eh₂yéti | Creates iterative/ frequentative/ intensive... |
| 7 | Proto-Indo-European | -yéti | Creates intransitive, often deponent,... |
| 8 | Proto-Indo-European | yé- | — |
| 9 | Chichewa | iye | he, she |