nictitation
/ˌnɪktɪˈteɪʃn/noun
Winking or blinking; the action or habit of moving the eyelids; an instance of this.
Origin
Late 18th century; earliest use found in Erasmus Darwin (1731–1802), physician and natural philosopher. From post-classical Latin nictitatio winking or blinking from nictitat-, past participial stem of nictitare + -io.