Sc. and north. dial. Forms: (1 cincian), 4 kinc, 5 kynke, 7 kinck, 7– kink. [Northern form of CHINK v.1, OE. cincian, corresp. to LG. kinken, app. a nasalized variant of Teut. *kîk-an, whence MHG. kîchen, Ger. keichen, Sw. kikna, Norw. kikje, to gasp, pant, fetch breath with difficulty. Occurs in most modern Teutonic langs., as the first element of the name of the chincough, kinkcough or kinkhost.]
intr. To gasp convulsively for breath, lose the breath spasmodically, as in hooping-cough or a severe fit of laughing. a. with laughing.
c. 1050. Suppl. Ælfric’s Voc., in Wr.-Wülcker, 171/39. Cachinnantio, ceahhetung uel cincung.
c. 1325. Metr. Hom., 83. Full ille bers us lah and kinc Quen apon this bischop we think.
c. 1460. Towneley Myst., xxx. 152. Peasse, I pray the, be still, I laghe that I kynke.
1607. Walkington, Opt. Glass, 46. Hee laughes and kincks like Chrysippus when he saw an asse eate figs.
1802. Sibbald, Sc. Poetry, Gloss., Kink,… to laugh immoderately.
1894. Hall Caine, Manxman, VI. iv. 368. The child … laughed and squealed till she ‘kinked.’
b. as in hooping-cough.
1674–91. Ray, N. C. Words, To Kink,… spoken of Children when their Breath is long stopped through eager crying or coughing.
1863. Mod. Yorksh. Dial., Poor child coughs till it kinks again.
1883. C. F. Smith, Southernisms, in Trans. Amer. Philol. Soc., 51. Kink … is still used in West Virginia, and perhaps elsewhere, of a child’s losing its breath by coughing especially, or crying, or laughing.
1886. S. W. Linc. Gloss., Kink, to … labour for breath, as in the whooping-cough.
Mod. Sc. She does not kink much, she has it lightly.
Hence Kinking vbl. sb.1 and ppl. a.1
c. 1050. [see a above].
1607. Walkington, Opt. Glass, 80 b. With euer-kincking vaine The bellowes of his breath he tore in twaine.
