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Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1) - Cite This Source - Share This

win·kle

[wing-kuh

l] Pronunciation Key noun, verb, -kled, -kling. British

–noun

1.	any of various marine gastropods; periwinkle.

–verb (used with object)

2.	Informal. to pry (something) out of a place, as winkle meat is dug out of its shell with a pin (usually fol. by out).

[Origin: 1575–85; short for periwinkle

]

Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1)
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2006.

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American Heritage Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

win·kle¹ (wĭng'kəl) Pronunciation Key
n. Zoology
A periwinkle.

(Download Now or Buy the Book)
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2006 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.

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American Heritage Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

win·kle² (wĭng'kəl) Pronunciation Key
tr.v. win·kled, win·kling, win·kles Chiefly British
To pry, extract, or force from a place or position. Often used with out.

[From winkle¹ (from the process of extracting periwinkles from their shells).]

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Online Etymology Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This
winkle

edible mollusk, 1585, shortening of periwinkle (2).

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WordNet - Cite This Source - Share This

winkle
noun
1.	small edible marine snail; steamed in wine or baked [syn: periwinkle]
2.	edible marine gastropod [syn: periwinkle]
verb
1.	emit or reflect light in a flickering manner; "Does a constellation twinkle more brightly than a single star?" [syn: twinkle]
2.	gleam or glow intermittently; "The lights were flashing" [syn: flash]
3.	remove or displace from a position

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Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

Winkle

Per"i*win`kle\, n. [From AS. pinewincla a shellfish, in which pine- is fr. L. pina, pinna, a kind of mussel, akin to Gr. ?. Cf. Winkle.] (Zo["o]l.) Any small marine gastropod shell of the genus Littorina. The common European species (Littorina littorea), in Europe extensively used as food, has recently become naturalized abundantly on the American coast. See Littorina.

Note: In America the name is often applied to several large univalves, as Fulgur carica, and F. canaliculata.

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