Nictate

Pronunciation

• UK IPA: /nɪkˈteɪt/

Origin

From (the participle stem of) Latin nictāre ("to wink, blink").

Full definition of nictate

Verb

1. To wink or blink; (of certain animals) to close the nictating membrane. from 18th c.
• 1909, Frederick Rolfe, Don Renato, Chatto & Windus 1963:Indignantly interrogated as to whether he himself believed or exercised this abhominable and perabsurd superstition, he very gravely nictated his dexter eyelid. And I nictated mine. And we both laughed.
• 1955, Vladimir Nabokov, Lolita:Gently I pressed my quivering sting along her rolling salty eyeball. ‘Goody-goody,’ she said nictating.
• 2011, Perry & Wharton, Molecular and Physiological Basis of Nematode Survival, p. 113:In the absence of stimulation, C. elegans dauers are lethargic and generally immobile but nictate vigorously when disturbed.

Anagrams

• entatic, tetanic