nictitate

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Bring the gift of knowledge home for the holidays with the 
Eleventh Edition of Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary.
http://www.merriam-webster.com/cgi-bin/book.pl?c11.htm&1
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The Word of the Day for December 10 is:

nictitate   \NIK-tuh-tayt\   verb 
     : to wink 

Example sentence:
     Some flecks of dust had fluttered into Myron's eye, causing him to 
nictitate uncontrollably.

Did you know?
     "Nictitate" didn't just happen in the blink of an eye; it developed over 
time as an alteration of the older verb "nictate," which also means "to wink." 
Both verbs trace to the Latin word for winking, "nictare." The addition of the 
extra syllable was apparently influenced by Latin verbs ending in "-itare," 
such as "palpitare" and "agitare" (which gave us "palpitate" and "agitate," 
respectively). Today, "nictitate" has a special use in the animal world. Since 
the early 18th century, scientists have used "nictitating membrane" to describe 
the so-called "third eyelid": the thin, usually transparent membrane in the 
eyes of birds, fishes,  and other vertebrates that helps keep the eyeball moist 
and clean.