Link Centre Dictionary

twinkle

UK/ˈtwɪŋ.kəl/ US/ˈtwɪŋkʌl/ fairly common
verb (2) noun (1)

verb

1.

gleam or glow intermittently

  • “The lights were flashing”
Synonyms
2.

emit or reflect light in a flickering manner

  • “Does a constellation twinkle more brightly than a single star?”
Synonyms

noun

1.

Origin

From Middle English twinclen, twynclen, from Old English twinclian (“to twinkle”), equivalent to twink (“to wink; blink; twinkle”) + -le (frequentative suffix). Compare German zwinkern (“to wink; twinkle”).

Phrases

  • twinkle in one's daddy's eye
  • twinkle in one's father's eye
  • twinkle out
  • twinkle toes

Related words

Word family

Broader terms

Narrower terms

Related verbs

WordNet 2.1 (Princeton University). Wiktionary (CC BY-SA). CMU Pronouncing Dictionary. WordNet 2.1 Copyright Princeton University. All rights reserved. Wiktionary content is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike Licence.