Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

nictate

/nɪkˈteɪt/

Word Rarity Very rare

Frequency: Zipf frequency 0.00 in modern English

Syllables: nic-tate
IPA: /nɪkˈteɪt/

9

Scrabble Score

7

Letters

2

Syllables

6

Unique Chars

Meaning

verb

To wink or blink; (of certain animals) to close the nictating membrane.

Intransitive verb

Example Sentences

"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."
"Gently I pressed my quivering sting along her rolling salty eyeball. ‘Goody-goody,’ she said nictating."
"In the absence of stimulation, C. elegans dauers are lethargic and generally immobile but nictate vigorously when disturbed."

Etymology

First attested in 1755; borrowed from Latin nictātus, perfect passive participle of nictō (“to wink, blink”), see -ate (verb-forming suffix).

Origin

First known use: First attested in 1755

Regional Pronunciation

American English: /nɪkˈteɪt/
British English: /nɪkˈteɪt/

Usage

Intransitive verb

Inflected Forms

nictates (present, singular) nictating (participle, present) nictated (participle, past) nictated (past)

Synonyms

blink wink nictitate

Questions

How do you pronounce nictate?: The recorded pronunciation is /nɪkˈteɪt/.
What does nictate mean?: To wink or blink; (of certain animals) to close the nictating membrane.
Where does nictate come from?: First known use: First attested in 1755.

How to pronounce nictate

Open the pronunciation page — Open the Speakur entry for “nictate”.
Read the phonetic spelling — Read the IPA spelling (/nɪkˈteɪt/) so you know which sounds to aim for.
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