wince

== English == === Etymology === From Middle English wyncen, from Anglo-Norman winchir (compare Old French guenchir), from Frankish *wankjan, related to *winkijan (“to flex, bend”). See also German winken. === Pronunciation === IPA(key): /wɪns/ Rhymes: -ɪns === Noun === wince (plural winces) A sudden movement or gesture of shrinking away. A reel used in dyeing, steeping, or washing cloth; a winch. It is placed over the division wall between two wince pits so as to allow the cloth to descend into either compartment at will. ==== Translations ==== === Verb === wince (third-person singular simple present winces, present participle wincing, simple past and past participle winced) (intransitive) To flinch as if in pain or distress. (transitive) To wash (cloth), dip it in dye, etc., with the use of a wince. To kick or flounce when unsteady or impatient. ==== Translations ==== === See also === cringe == Old English == === Etymology === From Proto-Germanic *winkijǭ, from Proto-Indo-European *weng- (“to bow, bend, arch, curve”). Related to the verb wincian (“to wink”). === Noun === winċe f winch, reel ==== Descendants ==== English: winch === References === Joseph Bosworth; T. Northcote Toller (1898), “wince”, in An Anglo-Saxon Dictionary, second edition, Oxford: Oxford University Press.