Emily Dickinson Lexicon

TWINK'LE, v.i. [Sax. twinclian; most probably formed from wink, with the prefix eth, ed, or oth, like twit.]

1. To sparkle; to flash at intervals; to shine with a tremulous intermitted light, or with a broken quivering light. The fixed stars twinkle; the planets do not. These stars do not twinkle, when viewed through telescopes that have large apertures. Newton.
2. To open and shut the eye by turns; as, the twinkling owl. L'Estrange.
3. To play irregularly; as, her eyes will twinkle. Donne.