Hoodwink comes from Middle English hood ('covering for the head') + wink ('to close the eyes'); originally Early Modern English hoodwink ('to cover the eyes'), later Modern English hoodwink ('to deceive; trick'). In current use it is a verb meaning "to deceive or trick someone". That sense is explained by the older material without requiring a speculative semantic step: the inherited or borrowed base supplies the field of meaning, while the English formation fixes its modern role. The surface form is compositional: its joined elements remain visible in the modern word. The semantic development is therefore important as well as the form: the word moves from the older concrete, technical, or literal setting into the present figurative or specialized sense.