nictitate

[ nik-ti-teyt ]
See synonyms for nictitate on Thesaurus.com
verb (used without object),nic·ti·tat·ed, nic·ti·tat·ing.
  1. a variant of nictate.

Origin of nictitate

1
First recorded in 1815–25; from Medieval Latin nictitātus, past participle of nictitāre, frequentative of nictāre nictate

Other words from nictitate

  • nic·ti·tant, adjective

Words Nearby nictitate

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British Dictionary definitions for nictitate

nictitate

nictate (ˈnɪkteɪt)

/ (ˈnɪktɪˌteɪt) /


verb
  1. technical words for blink (def. 1)

Origin of nictitate

1
C19: from Medieval Latin nictitāre to wink repeatedly, from Latin nictāre to wink, from nicere to beckon

Derived forms of nictitate

  • nictitation or nictation, noun

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