Twinkle vs Atwinkle - What's the difference?

As a verb twinkle

is to shine with a flickering light; to glimmer.

is a sparkle or glimmer of light.

twinkling.

(en-verb)

(of a source of light) to shine with a flickering light; to glimmer

We could see the lights of the village twinkling in the distance.

* Sir Isaac Newton

These stars do not twinkle when viewed through telescopes that have large apertures.

* Sir Walter Scott

The western sky twinkled with stars.

(chiefly, of eyes) to be bright with delight

His shrewd little eyes twinkled roguishly.

to bat, blink or wink the eyes

* Mrs. Juliet M. Hueffer Soskice, "Reminiscences of an Artist's Granddaughter",

She smiled and gave a little nod and twinkled her eyes

* L'Estrange

The owl fell a moping and twinkling .

to flit to and fro

* Dorothy Gilman, "Mrs. Pollifax and the Golden Triangle"

A butterfly twinkled among the vines

* glimmer * scintillate * wink

(en noun)

a sparkle or glimmer of light

* Robert De Beaugrande, "Text, Discourse, and Process",

Soon the rocket was out of sight, and the flame was only seen as a tiny twinkle of light.

a sparkle of delight in the eyes.

He was a rotund, jolly man with a twinkle in his eye.

a flitting movement

* James Russell Lowell, "Poetical Works of James Russell Lowell",

I saw the twinkle of white feet,

(-)

Twinkling.

* {{quote-news, year=2008, date=June 16, author=John Harwood, title=No Ordinary Candidates, No Typical Campaign, work=New York Times citation

, passage=Eyes atwinkle at age 71, he boasts skills rare in the Republican Party for waging guerrilla war with help from the news media. }}