wince
/wɪns/
Word Rarity
Rare
Frequency: Zipf frequency 2.61 in modern English
10
Scrabble Score
5
Letters
1
Syllables
5
Unique Chars
Meaning
noun
A sudden movement or gesture of shrinking away.
noun
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.
name
A surname.
Example Sentences
- "I will not stir, nor wince, nor speak a word."
- "“Perhaps it is because I have been excommunicated. It's absurd, but I feel like the Jackdaw of Rheims.” ¶ She winced and bowed her head. Each time that he spoke flippantly of the Church he caused her pain."
- "The two Gordon setters came obediently to heel. Sir Oswald Feiling winced as he turned to go home. He had felt a warning twinge of lumbago."
- "A horse winces."
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.
Origin
Word Breakdown
- Root: wyncen, winchir, *wankjan, -