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Origin and history of lapwing

lapwing(n.)

Middle English lappewinke (late 14c.), lapwyngis (early 15c.), folk etymology alteration of Old English hleapewince "lapwing," probably literally "leaper-winker," from hleapan "to leap" (see leap (v.)) + wince "totter, waver, move rapidly," related to wincian "to wink" (see wink (v.)).

Said to be so called from "the manner of its flight" [OED, 1989] "in reference to its irregular flapping manner of flight" [Barnhart], but the lapwing also flaps on the ground pretending to have a broken wing to lure egg-hunters away from its nest. Its Greek name was polyplagktos "luring on deceitfully."

also from late 14c.

Entries linking to lapwing

leap(v.)

c. 1200, from Old English hleapan "to jump, spring clear of the ground by force of an initial bound; run, go; dance, leap upon (a horse)" (class VII strong verb; past tense hleop, past participle hleapen), from Proto-Germanic *hlaupanan (source also of Old Saxon hlopan, Old Norse hlaupa, Old Frisian hlapa, Dutch lopen, Old High German hlouffan, German laufen "to run," Gothic us-hlaupan "to jump up"), of uncertain origin, with no known cognates beyond Germanic; perhaps a substratum word.

First loke and aftirward lepe [proverb recorded from mid-15c.]

Transitive sense "pass over by leaping" is from early 15c. Leap-frog, the children's game, is attested by that name from 1590s ("Henry V"); figurative use by 1704; as a verb from 1872. To leap tall buildings in a single bound (1940s) is from the description of Superman's powers. Related: Leaped; leaping.

wink(v.)

Middle English winken, "to blink, close the eyes," Old English wincian, from Proto-Germanic *wink- (source also of Dutch winken, Old High German winkan "move sideways, stagger; nod," German winken "to wave, wink"), a gradational variant of the root of Old High German wankon "to stagger, totter," Old Norse vakka "to stray, hover," reconstructed in Watkins to be from PIE root *weng- "to bend, curve."

As "close and open the eyelids quickly" by c. 1300. The meaning "close an eye as a hint or signal," perhaps accompanied by a nod of the head is recorded by c. 1100; that of "close one's eyes (to fault or irregularity)" is attested by late 15c. Of lights, etc., "twinkle, flash, sparkle," by 1590s. Related: Winked; winking.

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