Where does “winky” come from?
winky (English) comes from English wink, from English periwinkle, from Middle English pinewinkle, from Old English pīnewincle, from Latin pina, from Ancient Greek πίνη, from Ancient Greek τηρέω, from Ancient Greek -έω — Creates transitive imperfective verbs from roots.
winky (English): tending to wink; winking; An emoticon or smiley...
Definitions
- tending to wink; winking; An emoticon or smiley...
Ancestry of “winky”, step by step
winky traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.
via English wink
| 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 |
via English Y
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | Y | A figure or mark in the shape of the letter Y; A... |
| 2 | English | yuri | A narrative or visual work featuring a romance or... |
| 3 | Japanese | 百合 | lily |
| 4 | Japanese | 連用形 | an inflectional category: the continuative or... |
| 5 | Japanese | 見る | to see, to watch, to observe, to look at... |
| 6 | Japanese | 夢 | a dream; a vision; leaving reality to the state... |
| 7 | Old Japanese | 夢 | a dream |
| 8 | Japanese | 目 | an order in biology: smaller than a class, bigger... |
| 9 | Middle Chinese | 目 | — |