Where does “winking” come from?
Winking derives from Middle English winken, a verb meaning to close one's eyes or blink.
winking (English): present participle of wink; The act of someone...
Definitions
- present participle of wink; The act of someone...
Ancestry of “winking”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | wink | To close one's eyes in sleep; To close one's... |
| 2 | English | periwinkle | Any of several evergreen plants of the genus... |
| 3 | Middle English | pinewinkle | — |
| 4 | Old English | pīnewincle | — |
| 5 | Latin | pina | sea pen |
| 6 | Ancient Greek | πίνη | pen shell; pearl shell, pearl |
| 7 | Ancient Greek | τηρέω | to watch over, take care of, guard; to have an... |
| 8 | Ancient Greek | -έω | Used to form verbs from nouns, adjectives and... |
| 9 | Proto-Indo-European | -éyeti | Forms causative imperfective verbs from roots;... |
| 10 | Proto-Indo-European | -yeti | Creates transitive imperfective verbs from roots |