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Dictionary

Words, grammatical forms and meanings linked to the ontology.

twang en · NOUN

Pronunciation

  • [ˈtʰwɛ̃ŋ] (Canada, US)
  • [ˈtʰwæŋ] without æ-raising
  • /ˈtwæŋ/ without æ-raising
  • /ˈtweɪ̯ŋ/ (Canada, US)
  • [ˈtʰweɪ̯ŋ] ~ /ˈtwɛ̃ŋ/ (Canada, US)
  • (Australia) audio

Etymology

Onomatopoeic. Compare Middle English twengen (“to pinch, tweak”) (whence modern English twinge), from Old English twenġan (“to pinch, twinge”); Middle English twingen (“to afflict, torment, oppress”), from Old Norse þvinga (“to weigh down, oppress”); Old English twingan (“to force, press”).

Meanings

  1. The sharp, quick sound of a vibrating tight string, for example, of a bow or a musical instrument.
    • Let me give you in rude recitation, with here and there a twang and a caper of the guitar-strings, my vision of the Cid's sally from his besieged castle of Alcocer—the first outburst of that Spanish deluge that never receded till it rose over the dead body of the last Moor. 1860, [George] Walter Thornbury, “Life in Spain: Past and Present”, in (Please provide the book title or journal name), New York, N.Y.: Harper & Brothers, Publishers, Franklin Square, →OCLC, page 148:
  2. A particular sharp vibrating sound characteristic of electric guitars.
  3. A trace of a regional or foreign accent in someone's voice.
    • Judging by the new voice over the PA, we've had a crew change in Plymouth - the warning about masks and the apology for lack of catering is made in a chirpy Cockney twang rather than a West Country burr. 2020 December 2, Paul Bigland, “My weirdest and wackiest Rover yet”, in Rail, page 65:
    • Despite having lived in Canada for 20 years, he still has that Eastern European twang in his voice.
    • A few insinuated that the American was not first-rate in Shakespeare, and one or two snidely detected a twang of the backwoods in his accent; […] 2007, Nigel Cliff, The Shakespeare Riots: Revenge, Drama, and Death in Nineteenth-century America, Random House Incorporated, →ISBN, page 90:
  4. The sound quality that appears in the human voice when the epilaryngeal tube is narrowed.
    • Near-synonym: nasality
    • nasal twang
  5. A sharp, pungent taste or flavor; sometimes, a disagreeable one specifically.
    • Buttermilk also tastes different today. What do people do when they make buttermilk for the public that gives buttermilk that twang taste? Do these people put milk in an aging tank to mature like wine in a place where air and germs can't get to it? 2011, Marvin Carpenter, The 1929 Depression: Hey! That’s Perry County!, Bloomington, Ind.: iUniverse, →ISBN, page 2:
    • spicy twang
  6. (slang, vulgar) An annoying or stupid person; especially, a recalcitrant.

Forms

SpellingFeaturesLabelsSource
twangs Number=Plur lexicographic

Coordinates

hum · tweeb · twat · zing · plink

Deriveds

twanger · twangy

Synonyms

tang · nasality

Translations (9)

ro vibrație (sound of a tight string) · es gangosidad (nasal speech) · cs huhňání (nasal speech) · ro zumzet (sound of a tight string) · cs brnknutí (sound of a tight string) · de Näseln (sound of a tight string) · ro zbârnâit (sound of a tight string) · te టంకారము (sound of a tight string) · pa ਤਰਬ (sound of a tight string)

twang en · VERB

Pronunciation

  • [ˈtʰwɛ̃ŋ] (Canada, US)
  • [ˈtʰwæŋ] without æ-raising
  • /ˈtwæŋ/ without æ-raising
  • /ˈtweɪ̯ŋ/ (Canada, US)
  • [ˈtʰweɪ̯ŋ] ~ /ˈtwɛ̃ŋ/ (Canada, US)
  • (Australia) audio

Etymology

Onomatopoeic. Compare Middle English twengen (“to pinch, tweak”) (whence modern English twinge), from Old English twenġan (“to pinch, twinge”); Middle English twingen (“to afflict, torment, oppress”), from Old Norse þvinga (“to weigh down, oppress”); Old English twingan (“to force, press”).

Meanings

  1. (ambitransitive) To produce or cause to produce a sharp vibrating sound, like a tense string pulled and suddenly let go.
  2. (intransitive) To have a nasal sound.
  3. (intransitive) To have a trace of a regional or foreign accent.
  4. To play a stringed musical instrument by plucking and snapping.

Forms

SpellingFeaturesLabelsSource
twangs Number=Sing, Person=3, Tense=Pres lexicographic
twanged Tense=Past, VerbForm=Part lexicographic
twanged Tense=Past lexicographic
twanging Tense=Pres, VerbForm=Part lexicographic

Coordinates

lisp · drawl · brogue · lilt

Deriveds

twanger · twangle · twangster · twangingly · twanging

Translations (17)

fi honottaa (to have a nasal sound) · cs huhňat (to have a nasal sound) · hu pendül (to produce or cause to produce a sharp vibrating sound) · fi näppäillä (music: to play a stringed musical instrument by plucking and snapping) · fi korostaa (to have a trace of a regional or foreign accent) · ro nazaliza (to have a nasal sound) · cs zadrnčet (to produce or cause to produce a sharp vibrating sound) · cs drnknout (to produce or cause to produce a sharp vibrating sound) · de zupfen (to produce or cause to produce a sharp vibrating sound) · cs drnčet (to produce or cause to produce a sharp vibrating sound) · ro zumzăi (to produce or cause to produce a sharp vibrating sound) · ro zbârnâi (to produce or cause to produce a sharp vibrating sound) · ro vibra (to produce or cause to produce a sharp vibrating sound) · hu penget (to produce or cause to produce a sharp vibrating sound) · hu peng (to produce or cause to produce a sharp vibrating sound) · cs brnknout (to produce or cause to produce a sharp vibrating sound) · de näseln (to have a nasal sound)