18 February 2016

nictitate or nictate

[nik-ti-teyt]

verb (used without object), nictitated, nictitating.

1. to wink.

Origin of nictitate

Medieval Latin, Latin
1815-1825; < Medieval Latin nictitātus, past participle of nictitāre, frequentative of Latin nictāre to wink, frequentative of nicere to beckon; see -ate1

Related forms

nictitant, adjective

Dictionary.com

Example

The power of hearing is acute, and so is the sight, the eyes being protected by upper and lower lids and by a nictitating membrane.

Anagram

intact tie
cite titan

Today’s quote

Character is like a tree and reputation like a shadow. The shadow is what we think of it; the tree is the real thing.

– Abraham Lincoln

On this day

18 February 1294 – death of Kublai Khan, of the Mongol Empire. He was the grandson of Genghis Khan. In 1271, Kublai Khan established the Yuan Empire ruling over modern-day Mongolia, China and Korea. He became the first non-Chinese Emperor to conquer all of China. He was born on 23 February 1215.

18 February 1965 – Australian Freedom Rides led by Charles Perkins. The Freedom Rides were inspired by the Freedom Rides in America. Perkins and 33 others travelled by bus to numerous towns in New South Wales challenging and protesting against discrimination and segregation. They picketed pools, parks and pubs where aborigines were expected to be segregated. Some of the protests turned violent, such as in Moree and Walgett when locals attacked the protesters. One of the protesters was Jim Spigelman who became Lieutenant Governor of New South Wales and later, Chief Justice of New South Wales. Charles Perkins became the first aborigine to graduate from university.