Source : Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913)

Winkle \Win"kle\, n. [AS. wincle.] (Zo["o]l.)
   (a) Any periwinkle. --Holland.
   (b) Any one of various marine spiral gastropods, esp., in the
       United States, either of two species of {Fulgar} ({F.
       canaliculata}, and {F. carica}).

   Note: These are large mollusks which often destroy large
         numbers of oysters by drilling their shells and sucking
         their blood.

   {Sting winkle}, a European spinose marine shell ({Murex
      erinaceus}). See Illust. of {Murex}.

Periwinkle \Per"i*win`kle\, n. [From AS. pinewincla a shellfish,
   in which pine- is fr. L. pina, pinna, a kind of mussel, akin
   to Gr. ?. Cf. {Winkle}.] (Zo["o]l.)
   Any small marine gastropod shell of the genus Littorina. The
   common European species ({Littorina littorea}), in Europe
   extensively used as food, has recently become naturalized
   abundantly on the American coast. See {Littorina}.

   Note: In America the name is often applied to several large
         univalves, as {Fulgur carica}, and {F. canaliculata}.