▪ I. blink, v.
(blɪŋk)
Forms: (4 blynke), 6–7 blinke, 7 blynck, 7– blink.
[In ME., only as an occasional variant of blenk, esp. in Robert of Brunne; and perh. in the form blinche (once, in Beket), also in a sense of blench. Otherwise exclusively mod.English (since c 1575). It coincides in its late appearance, as well as in form and sense, with MDu. and mod.Du. blinken, mod.Ger. blinken, the origin of which is equally obscure. They are conjecturally regarded as nasalized forms of the stem blik- to shine (see blik), but no satisfactory account can be given of their late appearance. In ME., blenke was used regularly where blink now takes its place: see blench, blenk.]
I. To deceive, elude, turn away.
† 1. trans. To deceive. Obs. rare. [For ME. blench v.1 1, blenk v. 1.]
| 1303 R. Brunne Handl. Synne 4169 We Englys men þeron shulde þynke Þat enuye us nat blynke. |
2. † a. intr. To start out of the way, so as to elude anything; = blench v.1 2, blenk 2. Obs. rare.
| a 1300 Cursor M. 7626 (Gött.) Þoru he had his bodi born Ne had he blinked him biforn [v.r. blenked (2), blenched]. |
b. trans. (Coursing.) To elude (the dogs) temporarily.
| 1876 Coursing Calendar 197 The hare blinked Grace at the fence. Ibid. 252 Hylactor and Blue Sea ran very evenly for some distance, but, as puss blinked them in a hollow, Hylactor was so well placed that he made a few weak points before effecting the death. |
¶ trans. To avoid, flinch from.
Cf. blinche c 1300 in blench v.1 3.
II. To move the eyelids, twinkle, peep, wink.
† 3. intr. To look, look up from sleep, open the eyes. [Only in this author; otherwise blenk v. 6.]
| 1303 R. Brunne Handl. Synne 5675 Pers of hys slepe gan blynke, And gretely on hys dreme gan þynke. |
4. To twinkle with the eye or eye-lids. In various shades of meaning which run into one another: in the earlier, the notion of ‘glancing’ predominates; in the later, that of ‘winking.’ a. To glance, cast or let fall a glance, have a peep; to look with glances (and not steadily).
| 1590 Shakes. Mids. N. v. i. 178 Sweet and louely vvall, Shew me thy chinke, to blinke through vvith mine eine. 1592 Jas. VI. in Ellis Orig. Lett. ii. 236. III. 163 Turne your eyes a littell..to blinke upon the necessaire cace of youre Friend. c 1650 Ld. of Learne 428 in Furniv. Percy Folio I. 197 Rather..then all the gold that ere I blinket on with mine eye. 1729 in Ramsay Tea-t. Misc. 16 On him she did na gloom, But blinkit bonnilie. |
b. To look with twinkling eye-lids, as one half-awake or dazzled with light.
| 1600 J. Lane Tom Tel-troth 132 It blinds the sight, it makes men bleare-eyd blinke. 1806 Coleridge Christabel ii. xxii, A snake's small eye blinks dull and shy. 1850 Mrs. Stowe Uncle Tom ix. 77 Holding the candle aloft, and blinking on our travellers with a dismal and mystified expression. 1861 Mrs. Norton Lady La G. iv. 176 The babe..with tender eyes Blinks at the world a little while, and dies. 1863 M. E. Braddon J. Marchmont III. i. 2 A brown setter..lay upon the hearth-rug..blinking at the blaze. |
c. To shut the eyelids momentarily and involuntarily; to wink for an instant.
| 1858 M. Porteous Souter Johnny 30 Or silly mortal blinks an ee. 1865 Dickens Mut. Fr. 269 London was blinking, wheezing and choking. 1876 Foster Phys. iii. v. (1879) 544 When we stimulate one of our eyelids with a sharp electrical shock, both eyelids blink. |
d. trans. to blink (tears) away or back: to send (tears) away, to avoid shedding (tears), by blinking.
| 1905 E. Glyn Viciss. Evang. 215 Tears kept rising in my eyes, and I did not even worry to blink them away. 1919 F. Hurst Humoresque 146 She blinked back the ever-recurring tears. 1924 Rose Macaulay Orphan Island xxi. §1 Rosamond blinked away tears, with the salt Pacific, from her eyes. 1945 ‘Brahms’ & Simon Six Curtains for Stroganova xx. 162 Above her flowers Dourakova bowed, smiled, and blinked back her tears. |
5. To cast a sudden or momentary gleam of light; to twinkle as a star; to shine with flickering light, or with a faint peep of light; to shine unsteadily or dimly.
| 1786 Burns Ep. J. Smith ii, Ev'ry star that blinks aboon. 1807 Crabbe Par. Reg. i. 378 Where blinks through paper'd panes the setting sun. 1821 Clare Vill. Minstr. I. 76 As stars blink out from clouds at night. 1828 Scott F.M. Perth II. v. 164 The very tapers are blinking, as if tired of our conference. 1872 Black Adv. Phaeton xxx. 398 The sun was..blinking on the windows. |
6. a. trans. To shut the eyes to; to evade, shirk, pass by, ignore: orig. a sporting phrase.
| 1742 Fielding J. Andrews i. xvi. (1815) 39 There's a bitch..she never blinked a bird in her life. 1811 Byron Hints fr. Hor. 555 Dogs blink their coveys. 1823 De Quincey Lett. Educ. i. (1860) 20 Children, however, are incidents that will occur in this life, and must not be blinked. 1859 Geo. Eliot A. Bede 114 It was no use blinking the fact. |
b. With at (improperly).
| 1857 Sears Athan. vi. 43 Why have these passages..been blinked at and ignored? |
7. a. trans. To turn (milk, beer, etc.) slightly sour. [The origin of this use has been sought in the glance of an evil eye, the ‘blinking’ of milk being formerly ascribed to witchcraft; also in the effect of lightning, since thunder generally ‘blinks’ milk.]
| 1616 Surfl. & Markh. Countr. Farm 589 Bottle ale..must not only be coold sufficiently, but also blynckt a little to giue it a quick & sharp tast. 1689 Gazophyl. Anglic. s.v. To blink beer; a word frequently used in Lincolnshire. 1713 Lond. & Countr. Brew. iv. (1743) 263 They are apt to blink or give a little sourish Taste to their Drink. |
b. intr. To turn slightly sour.
| a 1648 Digby Closet Open. (1677) 91 There let the wort..stand till it begin to blink and grow long like thin syrup. 1769 Mrs. Raffald Eng. Housekpr. (1778) 317 Wine..if you let it stand too long before you get it cold..summer-beams and blinks in the tub. |
¶ 8. trans. To cause one to blink; to blindfold. [A pseudo-archaism in Landor.]
| 1846 Landor Exam. Shaks. II. 278 He who blinketh the eyes of the poor wretch about to die doeth it out of mercy. 1853 Kane Grinnell Exp. xli. (1856) 376 With the sun..blinking my eyes. |
¶ 9. See blenk v. 6–7.
10. To look upon with the evil eye, to bewitch. Sc. and Irish. Cf. 7 a.
| 1880 W. H. Patterson Gloss. Antrim & Down 9 Cow's milk is said to be blinked when it does not produce butter, in consequence of some supposed charm having been worked. 1886 Folk-Lore Jrnl. IV. 255 Cattle can be fairy-struck or bewitched..the first is called ‘sheetin’ and the second ‘blinked’. 1892 Ballymena Observer (E.D.D.), Blink, to bewitch cattle and cause them to have little or no milk and butter. 1926 Blackw. Mag. Apr. 479/1 Perhaps we are bewitched or blinked, as Shamus Byrne would say. 1927 Scots Observer 15 Oct. 2/5 Mrs. Hazelton..had indeed blinked William Blair's cows. Ibid., He had set fire to the wisp of straw and had put it under a blinked cow's nose. |
▪ II. † blink, n.1 Obs.
[f. blink v. 1, and like it in ME. only in Robert of Brunne, for the blenk, blench of his contemporaries.]
1. A trick, stratagem; = blench, blenk, n. 1.
| 1303 R. Brunne Handl. Synne 4185 He shal þynke or to do þe a wykkede blynke. |
2. pl. Boughs thrown to turn aside deer from their course; also, feathers, etc. on a thread to scare birds. Cf. blencher.
| 1611 Cotgr., Brisees, boughes..left in the view of a deere, or cast ouerthwart the way to hinder his running..Our wood-men call them, Blinkes. 1611 Markham Countr. Content. i. xi. (1668) 59 They are like blinks, which will ever chase your game from you. 1625 ― Farew. Husb. 96 The nearer that these Blinkes..come to the ground..the better it is, lest the fowle finding a way to creep vnder them, begin not to respect them. |
▪ III. blink, n.2
(blɪŋk)
Forms: 4 blynke, 6 blinck, 7 blinke, 7– blink.
[f. blink v. 3–4; like which it is found in ME. in Robert of Brunne, where contemporaries used blenk.]
1. a. A sudden or momentary gleam of light from the sun, a fire, etc.; a slight flash; a peep of light; a twinkling gleam, as of the stars; a gleam of sunshine between showers: also poet. ‘glimmer.’
| 1717 Protest. Mercury 5 July 6 A terrible Fire..caus'd.. by a Blink of Fire that issued from some adjoining Chimney, and lodg'd in the Thatch. 1818 Scott Hrt. Midl. xi, Creep out of their holes like blue-bottle flies in a blink of sunshine. 1833 Wordsw. Sonn. vii, Not a blink Of light was there. 1834 R. Mudie Brit. Birds (1841) I. 323 The blink of reddish orange displayed by the flirt of the tail. 1855 Browning Statue & Bust, In a bed-chamber by a taper's blink. |
b. fig. A ‘glimmer’ or ‘spark’ of anything good. c. A brief gleam of mental sunshine.
| 1303 R. Brunne Handl. Synne 4449 Þe leste þoghte..Þat of godenesse hadde any blynke. 1730 T. Boston Mem. vi. 132, I sometimes have blinks of great joy. a 1752 R. Erskine in Spurgeon Treas. Dav. Ps. ci, I will sing of my blinks and of my showers. 1833 M. Scott Tom Cringle xix. (1859) 542, I shall always bless heaven for my fair Blinks. |
d. on the blink: on the point of becoming extinguished; in a bad state, out of order. slang (orig. U.S.).
| 1901 ‘H. McHugh’ John Henry 83 A stranglehold line of business that will put Looey Harrison on the blink. 1904 ‘O. Henry’ Cabbages & Kings iii. 51 This café looks on the blink, but I guess it can set out something wet. 1912 Wodehouse Prince & Betty xiii. 176 That punt-pole's on the blink. I tried it yesterday, and it creaked. 1934 ― Right Ho, Jeeves xi. 136 All those years he spent in making millions in the Far East put his digestion on the blink. 1960 J. Ashford Counsel for Defence vi. 68 No good, David. The 'frig. is on the blink again. |
2. a. A glance (usually, a bright, cheerful glance); a glimpse. (Chiefly Sc.)
| 1594 Carew Tasso (1881) 7 Lookes downe, and in one blinck, and in one vew, Comprizeth all what so the world can shew. Ibid. 95 Her eyes Sweet blinck. 1715 Let. in Wodrow Corr. (1843) II. 66 We have had a sweet blink at the sacrament last Sabbath. 1790 Burns Tam O'Shanter, For ae blink o' the bonnie burdies. 1816 Scott Old Mort. xxxvii, I wish my master were living to get a blink o't. 1839 Bailey Festus xviii. (1848) 185 By the blink of thine eye. |
b. The action or an act of blinking.
| 1924 Galsworthy White Monkey i. xii, He did not miss the shift and blink in the manager's eyes. |
3. transf. The time taken by a glance; an instant, the twinkling of an eye; = Ger. Augenblick. (Chiefly Sc.)
| a 1813 A. Wilson Hogmenae, The liquor was brought in a blink. 1827 Scott Two Drovers, Stay Robin—bide a blink. 1864 Hawker Quest Sangraal 24 Whole Ages glided in that Blink of Time. |
4. = ice-blink: a shining whiteness about the horizon produced by reflection from distant masses of ice. Also, loosely, a large mass or field of ice, an iceberg.
| 1772–84 Cook Voy. (1790) V. 1854 A brightness in the northern horizon, like that reflected from ice, usually called the blink. 1818 Edin. Rev. XXX. 17 The blink from packs of ice, appears of a pure white. 1837 Macdougall tr. Graah's Greenland 80 During the three hours we took to pass this blink, it calved about twenty times. 1856 Kane Arct. Exp. I. v. 49, I ascended to the crow's-nest, and saw..the ominous blink of ice ahead. |
5. blink microscope [G. blinkmikroskop], an instrument for viewing two photographs of the same section of the sky alternately in rapid succession. Also called blink comparator.
| [1910 C. Pulfrich in Zeitschr. f. Instrumentenkunde XXX. 1 Die Anwendung des Blinkmikroskops.] 1911 C. Pulfrich in Encycl. Brit. XXV. 900/2 Since 1904 binocular observation of stellar plates..has been gradually discarded for the method devised by Pulfrich, which consists in the monocular observation of the two plates..with the assistance of the so-called ‘blink’ microscope. 1930 Discovery Aug. 252/2 It [sc. the planet Pluto] was identified from its motion past the numerous fixed stars as revealed on plates of the same star field while being compared under the blink comparator. |
▪ IV. blink, n.3 U.S.
A fisherman's name for the mackerel when about a year old.
| 1856 [see tinker n. 3]. 1888 Atwood in Goode Amer. Fishes 174 Fish of this size are sometimes called ‘Spikes’... The next year I think they are the ‘Blinks’, being one year old. |
▪ V. blink, a.
(blɪŋk)
Also 7 blinck.
[Cf. blinked.]
1. Of the eyes: Habitually blinking. Hence blink-eyed a. Also fig.
| 1575 Gascoigne Hearbes 152 Remembre Batte the foolish blink eyed boye. c 1590 Marlowe 2nd Pt. Tamburl. i. i, The blink-ey'd burghers heads. a 1695 Wood Life (1848) 220 A blinkeyed bookseller in Cheapside. 1695 Lond. Gaz. No. 3041/4 Blink Ey'd, high Nos'd. 1823 Thacher Jrnl. Amer. Rev. 320 It was the doctor's misfortune to have one blink eye. 1846 Dickens Pictures from Italy 9 Blink-eyed little casements. 1929 J. B. Priestley Good Compan. iii. i, A piebald blink-eyed,..little pierrot show. |
2. Of milk, etc.: Slightly sour. Cf. blink v. 7.
| 1883 C. F. Smith Southernisms in Trans. Amer. Philol. Soc. 45 Blink milk, ‘milk somewhat soured.’ West Virginia. |