twig en · NOUN · etymology 1
Pronunciation
- (US) audio
- /twɪɡ/ (US)
- [tʰw̥ɪɡ] (US)
Etymology
PIE word *dwóh₁ Etymology tree Proto-Germanic *twīgą Proto-West Germanic *twīg Old English twiġ Middle English twig English twig From Middle English twig, twyg, twigge, twygge, from Old English twigg, twicg, from Proto-West Germanic *twiggu (“small twig, shoot”), apparently a diminutive of Proto-West Germanic *twig (“branch, twig”) (whence also Old English twiġ and twiġa), from Proto-Germanic *twīgą, from Proto-Indo-European *dwigʰom, from *dwóh₁. More at two. Cognates Cognate with North Frisian twiich, twiig (“twig”), Saterland Frisian Twiech (“branch, twig”), West Frisian twiich (“twig”), Dutch twijg (“twig”), German Zweig (“branch, twig; section”), German Low German Twieg (“branch, twig”), Luxembourgish Zwäig (“twig”), Yiddish צווײַג (tsvayg, “branch”); also Old Church Slavonic двигъ (dvigŭ, “branch”), Albanian degë (“branch”).
Meanings
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A small thin branch of a tree or bush.
They used twigs and leaves as a base to start the fire.
A beech wood with silver firs in it rolled down the face of the hill, and the maze of leafless twigs and dusky spires cut sharp against the soft blueness of the evening sky.
1907 January, Harold Bindloss, chapter 1, in The Dust of Conflict, 1st Canadian edition, Toronto, Ont.: McLeod & Allen, →OCLC:
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(slang) Somebody, or one of their body parts, not looking developed.
You need to find a source of motivation and play off of that. Whether it be the jock in high school that always called you fat, or the guy who picked on you and called you a twig.
2007 February 24, Matt Weik, CSCS, “Successful Tips and Tricks For Contest Prep!”, in Bodybuilding.com, archived from the original on 16 Feb 2024:Schwarzenegger was long past his professional bodybuilding days when he and Carrere shot the tango scene, but he wasn’t a twig.
2022 July 19, Jason Rossi, “Arnold Schwarzenegger’s Most Dangerous Mistake on ‘True Lies’: ‘It Would Have Put Us Back 30 Days in the Production’”, in Showbiz CheatSheet:
Forms
| Spelling | Features | Labels | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| twigs | Number=Plur | lexicographic |
Deriveds
you cannot break a twig in a bundle · twiglet · hop the twig · limetwig · Macaya green twig anole · fall off the twig · twigless · off one's twig · a twig in a bundle is unbreakable · twigwork · in prime twig · a twig in a bundle cannot be broken · twigful · twig wilter · twiggy · redtwig · twig and berries · twiglike · you can't break a twig in a bundle · twig snake · one cannot break a twig in a bundle · twigger · undertwig · twigsome · twiggen · one can't break a twig in a bundle · battle-twig · lime-twig · twig rune
Relateds
Synonyms
Translations (115)
ba сыбыҡ (a small thin branch) · la virga (a small thin branch) · cs větvička (a small thin branch) · et vits (a small thin branch) · zza sılo (diq) (a small thin branch) · fi vitsa (a small thin branch) · uk гі́лка (a small thin branch) · cy brigyn (a small thin branch) · gd meangan (a small thin branch) · ml ചുള്ളി (a small thin branch) · sk vetvička (a small thin branch) · es vara (a small thin branch) · as ডালি (a small thin branch) · sq bisk (a small thin branch) · tl siit (a small thin branch) · izh vitsa (a small thin branch) · ms ranting (a small thin branch) · be галіна́ (a small thin branch) · mi tākupu (a small thin branch) · ja 小枝 (a small thin branch) · an branca (a small thin branch) · ro nuia (a small thin branch) · ga craobhóg (a small thin branch) · nrf brantchette (a small thin branch) · lt šaka (a small thin branch) · it verga (a small thin branch) · te రెమ్మ (a small thin branch) · es ramita (a small thin branch) · cmn 樹枝 /树枝 (a small thin branch) · sh grančica (a small thin branch) · hu gally (a small thin branch) · mh aļaļ (a small thin branch) · et oks (a small thin branch) · pt galho (a small thin branch) · ab а́махә (a small thin branch) · mi kōetoeto (a small thin branch) · gd ògan (a small thin branch) · de Zweig (a small thin branch) · ro smicea (a small thin branch) · sh гранчица (a small thin branch) · pl gałązka (a small thin branch) · th กิ่ง (a small thin branch) · mi rārā (a small thin branch) · la rāmulus (a small thin branch) · unm hìtùkwtët (a small thin branch) · da kvist (a small thin branch) · fa ترکه (a small thin branch) · es quirina (a skinny person) · uk гі́лочка (a small thin branch) · sv kvist (a small thin branch) · gd meanglan (a small thin branch) · gl guizo (a small thin branch) · tl gangaw (a small thin branch) · sq krane (a small thin branch) · fr brindille (a small thin branch) · sh vejka (a small thin branch) · nl twijg (a small thin branch) · zlw-osk rázga (a small thin branch) · ja 枝 (a small thin branch) · gl bringa (a small thin branch) · tl sangay (a small thin branch) · tr çalı çırpı (a small thin branch) · sh вејка (a small thin branch) · gd sprios (a small thin branch) · as ঠালি (a small thin branch) · is kvistur (a small thin branch) · alt будак (a small thin branch) · lt šakelė (a small thin branch) · vi cành (a small thin branch) · as ঠানি (a small thin branch) · cmn 枝 (a small thin branch) · fo kvistur (a small thin branch) · grc κάρφος (a small thin branch) · bg ве́йка (a small thin branch) · enm twygge (a small thin branch) · ru ве́точка (a small thin branch) · mba sanga (a small thin branch) · it ramoscello (a small thin branch) · vi nhánh (a small thin branch) · unm siakw (a small thin branch) · gl garabullo (a small thin branch) · be галі́нка (a small thin branch) · az budaq (a small thin branch) · gl verga (a small thin branch) · no kvist (a small thin branch) · hy շիվ (a small thin branch) · es ramilla (a small thin branch) · sip ལྕུག་ཕྲན (a small thin branch) · pl witka (a small thin branch) · bg кло́нка (a small thin branch) · ba ботаҡ (a small thin branch) · ta சுள்ளி (a small thin branch) · ro rămurică (a small thin branch) · nds Twieg (a small thin branch) · gd òganach (a small thin branch) · ab а́махәҭа (a small thin branch) · eo branĉeto (a small thin branch) · gd bioran (a small thin branch) · alt чыбык (a small thin branch) · ru ве́тка (a small thin branch) · sl vejica (a small thin branch) · ro rămurea (a small thin branch) · pt ramo (a small thin branch) · mi puaka (a small thin branch) · it rametto (a small thin branch) · uk галу́зка (a small thin branch) · az çubuq (a small thin branch) · fi risu (a small thin branch) · ar غُصَّيْن (a small thin branch) · ko 나뭇가지 (a small thin branch) · af takkie (a small thin branch) · mk гранче (a small thin branch) · ab ауаҩ абаа (a skinny person) · ang twiġ (a small thin branch) · ro vargă (a small thin branch)