tinkle

Etymology

From Middle English tinclen, equivalent to tink + -le (frequentative suffix).

verb

1. (intransitive) To make light metallic sounds, rather like a very small bell.
   The glasses tinkled together as they were placed on the table.
   The sprightly horse / Moves to the music of his tinkling bells. 1753, Robert Dodsley, Agriculture
2. (transitive) To cause to tinkle.
3. (transitive) To indicate, signal, etc. by tinkling.
   The butler tinkled dinner.
4. To hear, or resound with, a small, sharp sound.
5. (intransitive, informal) To urinate.

noun

1. A light metallic sound, resembling the tinkling of bells or wind chimes.
   She laughed, her voice a tinkle in the silence of the circular chamber. 1966, James Workman, The Mad Emperor, Melbourne, Sydney: Scripts, page 97
   At the very moment he cried out, David realised that what he had run into was only the Christmas tree. . . . There were no sounds of any movement upstairs: no shouts, no sleepy grumbles, only a gentle tinkle from the decorations as the tree had recovered from the collision. 1994, Stephen Fry, chapter 2, in The Hippopotamus
2. (UK, informal) A telephone call.
   Give me a tinkle when you arrive.
3. (informal, euphemistic) An act of urination.
4. (informal, euphemistic) Urine.