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An Etymological Dictionary of the German Language/Wink

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An Etymological Dictionary of the German Language, W (1891)
by Friedrich Kluge, translated by John Francis Davis
Wink
Friedrich Kluge2508596An Etymological Dictionary of the German Language, W — Wink1891John Francis Davis

Wink, m., ‘sign, wink, nod, hint,’ from the equiv. MidHG. winc (k), OHG. winch, m.; allied to winken, vb., ‘to wink, beckon, nod,’ MidHG. winken, str. vb., OHG. winchan, wk. vb., ‘to move sidewards, totter, nod, wink’; corresponding to AS. wincian, E. to wink. If ‘to totter along, move with a sideward motion,’ is the primary meaning of the Teut. root wink, the Aryan root may be the same as that of weichen (wī̆g, wī̆k). Related to the following word.