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Webster 1913 Edition


Wince

Wince

,
Verb.
I.
[
imp. & p. p.
Winced
;
p. pr. & vb. n.
Wincing
.]
[OE.
wincen
,
winchen
, OF.
quencir
,
guenchir
,
guenchier
,
giencier
,
guinchier
, and (assumed)
winchier
,
winchir
, to give way, to turn aside, fr. OHG.
wankjan
,
wenken
, to give way, to waver, fr.
winchan
to turn aside, to nod, akin to E.
wink
. See
Wink
.]
1.
To shrink, as from a blow, or from pain; to flinch; to start back.
I will not stir, nor
wince
, nor speak a word.
Shakespeare
2.
To kick or flounce when unsteady, or impatient at a rider;
as, a horse
winces
.

Wince

,
Noun.
The act of one who winces.

Wince

,
Noun.
[See
Winch
.]
(Dyeing & Calico Printing)
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.
Wince pit
,
Wince pot
,
a tank or a pit where cloth in the process of dyeing or manufacture is washed, dipped in a mordant, or the like.

Webster 1828 Edition


Wince

WINCE

,
Verb.
I.
1.
To shrink, as from a blow or from pain; to start back.
I will not stir nor wince.
2.
To kick or flounce when uneasy, or impatient of a rider; as, a horse winces.

Definition 2024


wince

wince

English

Noun

wince (plural winces)

  1. A sudden movement or gesture of shrinking away.
  2. 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)

  1. (intransitive) To flinch as if in pain or distress.
    • William Shakespeare
      I will not stir, nor wince, nor speak a word.
    • 1918, W. B. Maxwell, chapter 17, in The Mirror and the Lamp:
      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.
    • 1935, Francis Beeding, chapter 7/2, in The Norwich Victims:
      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.
  2. (transitive) To wash (cloth), dip it in dye, etc., with the use of a wince.
  3. To kick or flounce when unsteady or impatient.
    A horse winces.

Translations

See also