wince

Etymology

From Middle English wincen, winchen, from Anglo-Norman *wenchir, Old Northern French *wenchier (compare Old French guenchir), from Frankish *wenkjan, from Proto-Germanic *wankjan. See also German winken.

noun

1. A sudden movement or gesture of shrinking away.
2. A reel used in dyeing, steeping, or washing cloth; a winch. It is placed over the division wall between two wince pits so as to allow the cloth to descend into either compartment at will.

verb

1. (intransitive) To flinch as if in pain or distress.
   The two Gordon setters came obediently to heel. Sir Oswald Feiling winced as he turned to go home. He had felt a warning twinge of lumbago. 1935, Francis Beeding, “7/2”, in The Norwich Victims
2. (transitive) To wash (cloth), dip it in dye, etc., with the use of a wince.
3. To kick or flounce when unsteady or impatient.
   A horse winces.