Forms: 1 twinclian, 4–6 twinkel, twynkle, twyncle, (4 twyngle, Sc. twinkil, 4–5 twynkel, 5 -kele, -kyl, 5–6 Sc. -kil, 6 -kell, twinckel), 4–8 twincle, 6–8 twinckle, (twingle), 4– twinkle. [OE. twinclian, freq. of *twincan: see TWINK v.1 and -LE 3.]
1. intr. To shine with rapidly intermittent light; to emit tremulous radiance; to sparkle; to glitter; † to shine dimly, to glimmer; to flicker (obs.).
c. 888. K. Ælfred, Boeth., xxxv. § 3. Ic hire [the door] grapode ymbutan þæt ðe ic þæt lytle leoht ʓeseah twinclian. Ibid. (c. 897), Gregory’s Past. C., xiv. 86. Se spearca ðara godra weorca, þe her twinclað [v.r. tuinclað] beforan monnum.
c. 1386. Chaucer, Prol., 267. Hise eyen twynkled … As doon the sterres in the frosty nyght.
1423. James I., Kingis Q., i. Heigh In the hevynnis figure circulere The rody sterres twynklyng as the fyre.
1551. Recorde, Cast. Knowl. (1556), 8. The Fixed starres doo twinkle, and not the Planetes.
1582. Stanyhurst, Æneis, II. (Arb.), 69. Thee twylight twinckled [L. consumta nocte].
1658. trans. Porta’s Nat. Magic, XIII. 306. When the Iron is sparkling red hot … that it twinkles.
1678. Cudworth, Intell. Syst., I. i. § 37. 46. The Flame of a new lighted Candle is [not] the same with that Flame that twinkles last in the socket.
1740. Somerville, Hobbinol, I. 145. His single Eye Twinkles with Joy.
1784. Cowper, Task, VI. 251. The green blade that twinkles in the sun.
1818. Scott, Rob Roy, i. The tear twinkled in his dark eye.
1855. Macaulay, Hist. Eng., xiii. III. 364. A solitary light which twinkled through the darkness.
1863. W. C. Baldwin, Afr. Hunting, vii. 283. His large black diamond eyes … used to twinkle like stars.
transf. 1850. Kingsley, Alt. Locke, xxiv. He twinkled, and winked, and chuckled.
1871. ‘M. Legrand,’ Cambr. Freshm., xvii. A smile twinkled in his eyes.
1889. Barrie, Window in Thrums, xix. 177. Jess twinkled gleefully over tales of sweethearting.
b. trans. To emit (radiance, flashes, or beams) rapidly and intermittently; to communicate (a message or signal) in this way.
a. 1547. Surrey, Paraphr., Ps. viii. Wks. (1815), 85. Thou mad’st … each one of the wand’ring stars to twinkle sparkles bright.
1632. J. Hayward, trans. Biondi’s Eromena, 185. The minde … twinkled forth sparkles that argued great flames of excellencies.
1857. G. Meredith, Farina, viii. 134. A broad fire that twinkled branchy beams through an east hill-orchard.
1894. Mrs. Dyan, All in a Man’s K. (1899), 162. Not one bright star to twinkle hope and light to him.
1899. Westm. Gaz., 4 Aug., 7/3. The challenge-word … was twinkled … by the luminous dots and dashes from her masthead.
† c. To vary in twinkling. Obs. rare–1.
1665. Hooke, Microgr., lviii. 218. The Starrs neer the Horizon, are twinkled with several colours.
d. poet. To guide or light to some place by twinkling.
1690. Dryden, Don Sebastian, IV. i. The star of love That twinkles you to fair Almeyda’s bed.
1818. Keats, Endymion, IV. 719. Those eyes … Shall be my grief, or twinkle me to pleasure.
2. intr. To close and open the eye or eyes quickly (voluntarily or involuntarily); to make a signal by this means; to wink, blink; also said of the eye or eyes. Obs. or arch.
a. 1300. [see TWINKLING vbl. sb.1 2].
c. 1374. Chaucer, Boeth., II. pr. iii. 26 (Camb. MS.). She hath now twyncled [v.r. twynkeled] fyrst vp on the with wyckede eye.
c. 1375. Sc. Leg. Saints, xxviii. (Margarete), 595. & þis merwale alsone cane be As man mycht twinkil with his e.
1382. Wyclif, Prov. vi. 13. He twincleth [1388 bekeneth] with the eȝen.
c. 1440. Bone Flor., 1750. He twynkylde wyth hys eye, As who seyth, holde the stylle.
1513. Douglas, Æneis, IV. xii. 96. With ene rolling, and twynkilling wp full fane, Assayis scho to spy the hevinis lycht.
1608. Topsell, Serpents (1653), 684. They have but one eye-lid, and that groweth from the neather part of the cheek, which by reason of their eyes never twinckleth.
a. 1625. Fletcher, Woman Pleas’d, IV. i. I saw the wench that twir’d and twinkled at thee The other day.
1653. R. Sanders, Physiogn., 173. Beware of those who, when they speak to thee, twinkle.
1686. Lond. Gaz., No. 2103/4. He is about 17 years old,… near sighted, twinkling with his eyes.
1753. Richardson, Grandison (1754), II. x. 64. We hemm’d, handkerchief’d, twinkled.
1772. Test Filial Duty, I. 128. He did so simper and twinckle, and was so gallant, that [etc.].
1784. R. Bage, Barham Downs, II. 309. The old Justice twinkles, hems, coughs, and chuckles.
1815. Scott, Guy M., lv. He was observed to twinkle with his eyelids. Ibid. (1825), Betrothed, xxxi. Ere an eye could twinkle, his right knee was on the croupe of the Constable’s horse.
b. trans. with the eyes, eyelids, etc., as obj.
1591. Percivall, Sp. Dict., Parpadear, to twinkle the eies.
1846. Landor, Imag. Conv., Pope Leo xii & Gigi, Wks. I. 347/1. Her little kid ran after the soldier … twinkling its ears and rubbing them between its legs.
1851. Hawthorne, Ho. Sev. Gables, xiv. Phœbe took leave of the desolate couple;… twinkling her eyelids to shake off a dewdrop.
3. intr. To move to and fro, or in and out, with rapid alternation; to appear and disappear in quick succession; to flutter, flit, flicker.
In quot. 1799–1805 said of a space filled with moving objects; in quot. 1849 trans. (cf. 2 b).
1616. [see TWINKLING ppl. a. 2].
1642. in P. H. Hore, Hist. Wexford (1900), I. 303. A man might see them through the smoake of the gunpowder run twinckling like the moates in the sun.
1799–1805. Wordsw., Prelude, VII. 691. The open space … twinkles, is alive With heads.
1849. Saxe, Poems, Rape Lock, xix. [She] twinkled a foot in the polka’s twirl.
1852. M. W. Savage, R. Medlicott, V. ii. I love to see the fans fluttering, the ankles twinkling, the bouquets waving.
1863. Kingsley, Water Bab., i. 39. Her feet twinkled past each other so fast, that you could not see which was foremost.
