also: しゅんぼく
Archaic noun meaning a very short time, literally 'a blink of an eye'. Not used in modern Japanese; replaced by 瞬間 or 一瞬.
ドライアイの患者は、瞬目の回数が増えることがある。
Patients with dry eye may blink more frequently.
In classical Japanese, 瞬目 can mean 'a very short time'.
corneal reflex; blink reflex
Standard kanji form for the physiological sense. The reading しゅんもく is the primary pronunciation.
Alternate reading given; less common than しゅんもく.
Compound of 瞬 (blink, moment) and 目 (eye). The physiological sense is a direct Sino-Japanese term; the archaic temporal sense derives from the metaphor of a blink as a brief moment.