Winkle
/ˈwɪŋ.kəl/noun
A small edible marine snail, or the act of extracting something with effort or cunning.
Did you know?The verb sense of winkle is tied to the idea of twisting or winding something out, and English also preserves the same old root in words like wrinkle, wink, and wrangle.
Etymological Timeline
Proto-Indo-European
PIE
*wengʷ-
“to wind, turn, or bend”
Old English
OE
wincle
“a winkle, especially a small periwinkle-like sea snail”
Middle English
ME
wincle
“the sea snail; later also a small shellfish”
16th-17th Century
English
winkle
“to twist or pry out, as if by turning”
Modern English
English
winkle
“a small edible sea snail; to extract or obtain with effort or cunning”