Etymology From Middle English twinken, twynken, from Old English *twincian (“to wink; twinkle”), from Proto-West Germanic *twinkōn, from Proto-Germanic *twinkōną, an augmented form (with formative *-kōną; see English -k) of Proto-Germanic *twint- (“to twinkle”). Cognate with Middle High German zwinken, zwingen, modern German zwinkern (“to wink; twinkle”), Middle Dutch twinc (“a blink”), Middle High German zwinzen, zwinzern (“to blink, blink hard”).
Etymology From Middle English twinken, twynken, from Old English *twincian (“to wink; twinkle”), from Proto-West Germanic *twinkōn, from Proto-Germanic *twinkōną, an augmented form (with formative *-kōną; see English -k) of Proto-Germanic *twint- (“to twinkle”). Cognate with Middle High German zwinken, zwingen, modern German zwinkern (“to wink; twinkle”), Middle Dutch twinc (“a blink”), Middle High German zwinzen, zwinzern (“to blink, blink hard”).
1
One or more very small, short bursts of light.
1921, Almira Bailey, “The Bay on Sunday Morning” in Vignettes of San Francisco, San Francisco: The San Francisco Journal, p. 18, […] chug of the fishermen’s boats, twink of lights in the harbor at night […]
But even as he went, the smile began to come on his face, caught by the tail of the sturdy sister’s black eye, with its everlasting twink.1934, D. H. Lawrence, “Smile”, in The Woman Who Rode Away and Other Stories, Hamburg: Albatross, page 101:
2
A very short moment of time.
[…] in a twink she won me to her love.c. 1590–1592 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Taming of the Shrew”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act II, scene i]:
I’d have known all about it in half a twink.1893, Emily Sarah Holt, chapter 15, in All’s Well, London: J.F. Shaw, page 118:
1 more example
[…] and once again, in the twink of nothing, I was in another big high cab, all set to go hundreds of miles across the night, and was I happy!1957 September 5, Jack Kerouac, chapter 3, in On the Road, New York, N.Y.: Viking Press, →OCLC, part 1:
twink
verb
Etymology Imitative of the sound.
1
To chirp or twitter.
twink
noun
Etymology Imitative of the sound.
1
The chaffinch.
twink
verb
Etymology From twinkie. More at Twink § Etymology on Wikipedia.Wikipedia
1
Games, GamingDerogatory To engage in obnoxious or abusive behaviour in a multi-user dungeon or other roleplaying game, for example by griefing or by equipping a low-level character with advanced equipment from another player.
Twinking happens in virtual worlds with PD, but not to the same extent.2004, Richard A. Bartle, Designing Virtual Worlds, page 429:
However, the taboo surrounding twinking had all but disappeared by the time I started playing again in 2004.2016, Timothy Rowlands, Video Game Worlds: Working at Play in the Culture of EverQuest:
2 more examples
He used real money to buy large amounts of in-game gold then 'twinked' his new character with the best gear, upgrading as his level rapidly increased.2018, Adam Drake, Shadow For Hire Books 1-4:
That the twinked little brat doesn't want to mention that the only reason she won a single game was that daddy cut her a fat check.2020, Alex Maven, ForeverQuest: Online Battle Arena:
twink
noun
Etymology From twinkie. More at Twink § Etymology on Wikipedia.Wikipedia
1
LGBTSlang A young, attractive, slim man, usually having little body hair.
“Where are the twinks anyway? They usually have the decency to provide one or two decorative twinks… Jesus, who needs to waste a night staring at these tired old Gucci queens.”1978, Armistead Maupin, “Full moon in Seacliff”, in Tales of the City, New York: Ballantine, pages 253–254:
[…]the narrow gay ideal of a slim or waiflike male body, as displayed by the young "twink".2006, Dennis D. Waskul, Phillip Vannini, Body/Embodiment: Symbolic Interaction and the Sociology of the Body, page 135:
2
Derogatory, Slang A weak or effeminate man, whether gay or not.
“I thought testosterone would turn me into a man, but it turned me into a twink,” Tom, who is nonbinary, revealed to a cackling West Village audience last week at the Greenwich House Theater in Manhattan.2023 December 14, Gina Cherelus, “The Trans Comic Looking for Love ‘at the End of the World’”, in The New York Times, →ISSN, archived from the original on 22 Mar 2024:
3
Games, GamingInternet, Derogatory, Mildly A lower-level character in a roleplaying game (MMO) which is artificially overgeared or overpowered, due to being given advanced equipment or resources via a higher-level character controlled by the same player.
Bind-on-account was an innovation that allowed players to transfer goods to their own twinks, but not to those of other players.2015, Richard A. Bartle, MMOs from the Inside Out, page 154:
Characters who were obvious twinks, possessing equipment well beyond their means, were subject to public criticism.2016, Timothy Rowlands, Video Game Worlds: Working at Play in the Culture of EverQuest, page 71:
4
Games, GamingInternet, Dated, Derogatory A player in a multi-user dungeon (MUD) who engages in abusive min-maxing behaviour and exploits or took advantage of other players for personal gain.
I certainly don't consider myself a twink; however it seems that anyone who doesn't agree with another's point of view is automatically labelled as such.1997, Flower of the Night, “Looking for a mud”, in rec.games.mud.diku (Usenet):
You will not find any stock. You will not find any easy mobs. You will not find any +100 dam 'big swords of I win'. You will not find twink mudders. You will not hear about how Jim the Kewl dOOd scored last night at his sister's birthday party. You will not find bots.1997, Gov't Cheeze, “[AD/REQUEST] Builders and Players (twinks need not apply)”, in rec.games.mud.admin (Usenet):