Emily Dickinson Lexicon

BLINK, v.i. [Sax. blican, to shine, to twinkle; bliciend, clothed in white; ablican, to appear, to whiten; D. blikken, to glance, to twinkle, and blinken, to shine, to glitter; blyken, to appear or show; Sw. blincha, to wink, to connive; bleka, to shine, to twinkle; Ger. blicken, to look, to glance; blinken, to glance, to shine, to twinkle, to wink; Dan. blinker, to blink, to glance, to wink, to shine, to glitter. This contains the same radical letters as light.]

1. To wink; to twinkle with the eye.
2. To see obscurely. – Johnson. Is it not to see with the eyes half shut, or with frequent winking, as a person with weak eyes? One eye was blinking, and one leg was lame. – Pope.