how to say “a wink” in Hebrew
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קְרִיצַת עַיִן
Yesterday I introduced the Hebrew word for to blink – לְמַצְמֵץ . I mentioned that that word has a synonym, לִקְרוֹץ . But whereas למצמץ meaning to blink is a modern creation from the Biblical-Hebrew word להציץ (to peek), a form of the active-simple פָֹעַל verb
לקרוץ itself appears in Biblical Hebrew:
אַל יִשְׂמְחוּ לִי אֹיְבַי שֶׁקֶר, שֹׂנְאַי חִנָּם, יִקְרְצוּ עָיִן (תְּהִלִּים ל”ה:י”ט)
For my enemies will not rejoice over me, nor the liars who hate me without cause, who wink with their eyes. (Psalms 35:19, translation from Aramaic Bible in Plain English)
Since קריצה is a voluntary action (unlike blinking, which occurs unconsciously), it carries certain meanings. In the context above, the enemies יִקְרְצוּ עַיִן – wink their eyes in disdain. And in other contexts, קְרִיצַת עַיִן (the wink of an eye) can be a sign of friendship, an act of flirtation, etc.
For example:
הִיא קָרְצָה לִי עַיִן, וְלֹא יָדַעְתִּי מָה הַכּוָּנָה שֶׁלָּהּ.
She winked an eye at (to) me and I didn’t know what her intention was.
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