Nictate

Nictate (pronounced nik-teyt)

To wink.

1690s: From the Medieval Latin nictitātus, from the Latin nictātus, past participle of nictāre (to wink, fidget, blink, signal with the eyes), inflection of nictō (to blink, to wink; to signal with the eyes (and figuratively (of fire) to flash and to strive, to exert great effort).  It was related to nicere (to beckon) and the ultimate source was the primitive Indo-European root kneigwh (to blink, to draw together (the eyes or eyelids)) (related to kneygwh (to bend, to droop), the source also of the Gothic hniewan and the Old High German nigan (to bow, be inclined).  It was cognate with connīveō, nītor (to bear or rest upon something).  Nictate, nictitated & nictitating are verbs, nictitate is an adjective and nictator & nictation are noun; the noun plurat is nictators.  Nictate was used from the 1690s, nictitated & nictitating emerged in the 1710s and nictitation in the 1820s.

The alteration nictitate

The intransitive verb nictitate is sometimes described as an alternative spelling of nictate but it’s more a niche alteration for a specialised niche.  Nictitate’s origins are the same as nictate, coming from the Latin word for winking, nictāre.  The addition of the extra syllable is thought to have been under the influence of Latin verbs ending in -itare, such as palpitare and agitare (from which, respectively, English gained palpitate and agitate).  The niche is in zoology, a role it’s played since scientists in the early eighteenth century began to describe a “nictitating membrane”, the so-called "third eyelid", the thin, usually transparent membrane in the eyes of birds, fishes, and other vertebrates, the function of which is to help keep the eyeball moist and clean.  In zoology, the word referred either to a wink or blink but when applied to humans (a species in which a wink can be a non-verbal clue transmitting meaning) it's used exclusively of winks.

Noted nictator, Lindsay Lohan, nictating.

Vladimir Putin (b 1952; president or prime minister of Russia since 1999).  Mr Putin is a known nictator and for those individuals (or countries) at which his nictations are directed, the consequences can be good or bad.  Simultaneously, Mr Putin can “turn a blind eye” while giving a “nod and a wink”.

The act of nictation (as wink) is featured in idiomatic English phrases including a nod is as good as a wink (the hint, suggestion etc can be understood without further explanation) (and sometimes embellished as a nod is as good as a wink to a blind horse which must mystify those learning the language), God winks (an event or personal experience, often identified as coincidence, so astonishing that it is seen as a sign of divine intervention, especially when perceived as the answer to a prayer), in the wink of an eye (something happening instantaneously or very quickly (in the blink of an eye and in the twinkling of an eye are both synonymous), forty winks (a brief sleep, a nap), a wink at (an allusion to something or someone) and nudge nudge wink wink (a hint that a euphemism is being deployed).  There’s also the ominous sounding butt wink (in the sport of weight-lifting, an error while performing a squat of bending the lower back and moving the pelvis in under the body).