different between glitter vs blink

English

Etymology

From Middle English gliteren, from Old Norse glitra, from Proto-Germanic *glitr?n? (“to glitter”), from Proto-Indo-European *??ley-.

Pronunciation

• (UK) IPA^(key): /??l?t?(?)/
• (US) IPA^(key): /??l?t?/, [??l???]
• Rhymes: -?t?(r)

Noun

glitter (countable and uncountable, plural glitters)

1. A bright, sparkling light; shininess or brilliance.
   • 1913, Mary Averill, Japanese flower arrangement Chapter 20

     This to them seems most like mother earth in color, and therefore best, as it is, to enhance the beauty of flowers instead of detracting from their exquisite shades. What a contrast to the glitter and show of our silver vases, which represent generally little else but their cost.

   • 1841, Charles Dickens, Barnaby Rudge Chapter 57

     As yet there had been no symptom of the news having any better foundation than in the fears of those who brought it, but The Boot had not been deserted five minutes, when there appeared, coming across the fields, a body of men who, it was easy to see, by the glitter of their arms and ornaments in the sun, and by their orderly and regular mode of advancing

2. A shiny, decorative adornment, sometimes sprinkled on glue to make simple artwork.
3. (figuratively) Glitz.

Descendants

• ? Portuguese: glitter
• ? Spanish: glitter

Translations

Verb

glitter (third-person singular simple present glitters, present participle glittering, simple past and past participle glittered)

1. To sparkle with light; to shine with a brilliant and broken light or showy luster; to gleam.

   a glittering sword

   the glittering ornaments on a Christmas tree

   • The field yet glitters with the pomp of war.

2. To be showy, specious, or striking, and hence attractive.

   the glittering scenes of a court

Derived terms

• all that glitters is not gold

Translations

Portuguese

Etymology

Borrowed from English glitter.

Pronunciation

• (Brazil) IPA^(key): /??li.te?/

Noun

glitter m (uncountable)

1. glitter (shiny, decorative dust)

Spanish

Etymology

Borrowed from English glitter.

Noun

glitter m (plural glitteres)

1. glitter

Swedish

Etymology

Probably from Old Norse glitra.

Noun

glitter n (uncountable)

1. glitter; a shiny, decorative adornment

Declension

Related terms

• glittra
• glittrig

English

Etymology

From Middle English blynken, blenken, from Old English *blincan (suggested by causative verb blen?an (“to deceive”); > English blench), from Proto-Germanic *blinkan?, a variant of *bl?kan? (“to gleam, shine”). Cognate with Dutch blinken (“to glitter, shine”), German blinken (“to flash, blink”), Danish blinke (“to flash, twinkle, wink, blink”), Swedish blinka (“to flash, blink, twinkle, wink, blink”). Related to blank, blick, blike, bleak.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /bl??k/
• Rhymes: -??k

Verb

blink (third-person singular simple present blinks, present participle blinking, simple past and past participle blinked)

1. (intransitive) To close and reopen both eyes quickly.
   1. (transitive) To close and reopen one's eyes to remove (something) from on or around the eyes.

   2. To wink; to twinkle with, or as with, the eye.
   3. To see with the eyes half shut, or indistinctly and with frequent winking, as a person with weak eyes.
   4. To shine, especially with intermittent light; to twinkle; to flicker; to glimmer, as a lamp.
      • 1800, William Wordsworth, The Pet-Lamb

        The dew was falling fast, the stars began to blink.
2. To flash on and off at regular intervals.
   1. To flash headlights on a car at.

   2. To send a signal with a lighting device.

3. (hyperbolic) To perform the smallest action that could solicit a response.
   • 1980, Billy Joel, “Don't Ask Me Why”, Glass Houses, Columbia Records

     All the waiters in your grand cafe / Leave their tables when you blink.

4. (transitive) To shut out of sight; to evade; to shirk.

5. (Scotland) To trick; to deceive.

   (Can we find and add a quotation of Jamieson to this entry?)

6. To turn slightly sour, or blinky, as beer, milk, etc.
7. (science fiction, video games) To teleport, mostly for short distances.

Synonyms

• (close and open both eyes quickly): nictitate

Translations

Noun

blink (plural blinks)

1. The act of very quickly closing both eyes and opening them again.
2. (figuratively) The time needed to close and reopen one's eyes.
3. (computing) A text formatting feature that causes text to disappear and reappear as a form of visual emphasis.
   • 2007, Cheryl D. Wise, Foundations of Microsoft Expression Web: The Basics and Beyond (page 150)

     I can think of no good reason to use blink because blinking text and images are annoying, they mark the creator as an amateur, and they have poor browser support.

4. A glimpse or glance.

   • This is the first blink that ever I had of him.

5. (Britain, dialect) gleam; glimmer; sparkle
   • 1835, William Wordsworth, Address from the Spirit of Cockermouth Castle

     Not a blink of light was there.
6. (nautical) The dazzling whiteness about the horizon caused by the reflection of light from fields of ice at sea; iceblink
7. (sports, in the plural) Boughs cast where deer are to pass, in order to turn or check them.
8. (video games) An ability that allows teleporting, mostly for short distances

Related terms

Translations

Danish

Verb

blink

1. imperative of blinke

Dutch

Pronunciation

• Rhymes: -??k

Verb

blink

1. first-person singular present indicative of blinken
2. imperative of blinken

German

Verb

blink

1. singular imperative of blinken
2. (colloquial) first-person singular present of blinken

Norwegian Bokmål

Etymology

From the verb blinke

Pronunciation

Noun

blink m (definite singular blinken, indefinite plural blinker, definite plural blinkene)

1. a target, bullseye

Synonyms

• skyteskive

Derived terms

• midt i blinken

Noun

blink n

1. lightning

Derived terms

• blinklys

See also

• lynglimt

Verb

blink

1. imperative of blinke

References

• “blink” in The Bokmål Dictionary.

Norwegian Nynorsk

Etymology

From the verb blinke

Noun

blink m (definite singular blinken, indefinite plural blinkar, definite plural blinkane)

1. a target, bullseye

Synonyms

• skyteskive

Derived terms

• augneblink

Verb

blink

1. imperative of blinka

References

• “blink” in The Nynorsk Dictionary.