twitch en · NOUN · etymology 1
Pronunciation
- (Southern-England) audio
- /twɪt͡ʃ/
- [tʰw̥ɪt͡ʃ]
Etymology
From Middle English twicchen, from Old English *twiċċan, from Proto-West Germanic *twikkijan (“to nail, pin, fasten, clasp, pinch”). Cognate with English tweak, Low German twikken, German Low German twicken (“to pinch, pinch off”), zweckōn and gizwickan (> German zwicken (“to pinch”)).
Meanings
-
(countable, uncountable) A brief, small (sometimes involuntary) movement out of place and then back again; a spasm.
I saw a little twitch in the man's face, and knew he was lying.
- (countable, informal, uncountable) Action of spotting or seeking out a bird, especially a rare one.
-
(countable, uncountable) A stick with a hole in one end through which passes a loop, which can be drawn tightly over the upper lip or an ear of a horse and twisted to keep the animal quiet during minor surgery.
THE TWITCH is a short stick of strong ash, about the size of a mopstick, with a hole pierced near the end, through which is passed a piece of strong but small cord, and tied in a loop large enough to admit the open hand freely.
1861, John Henry Walsh, The Horse in the Stable and in the Field:
- (countable, uncountable) A brief, contractile response of a skeletal muscle elicited by a single maximal volley of impulses in the neurons supplying it.
- (countable, uncountable) The sudden narrowing almost to nothing of a vein of ore.
-
(countable, uncountable) A trip taken in order to observe a rare bird.
Siberian Crane [...] Following its departure, there was much speculation that rediscovery at a less inaccessible locality would lead to one of the great twitches of 1981; alas, this was not to be.
1982, British Birds, volume 75, number 11, London, page 498:
Forms
| Spelling | Features | Labels | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| twitches | Number=Plur | lexicographic |
Deriveds
twitchet · twitchlike · twitch game · twitch gameplay · slow-twitch · twitch fire · fast-twitch · sleep twitch · nervous twitch · twitchy · angletwitch · twitch grass
Synonyms
Translations (95)
wa toitche-nez (3. (farriery)) · cs cukání (1. brief, small (sometimes involuntary) movement out of place and then back again) · pt aziar (3. (farriery)) · mi tamaki (1. brief, small (sometimes involuntary) movement out of place and then back again) · de Zuckung (1. brief, small (sometimes involuntary) movement out of place and then back again) · de Maulholz (3. (farriery)) · pl skurcz (1. brief, small (sometimes involuntary) movement out of place and then back again) · la pāgula (3. (farriery)) · tl pasag (1. brief, small (sometimes involuntary) movement out of place and then back again) · gml mūlholt (3. (farriery)) · bg спазъм (4. (physiology) muscle contraction) · ru су́дорога (1. brief, small (sometimes involuntary) movement out of place and then back again) · id kedut (1. brief, small (sometimes involuntary) movement out of place and then back again) · ru подёргивание (1. brief, small (sometimes involuntary) movement out of place and then back again) · ar زِيَار (3. (farriery)) · sh tik (1. brief, small (sometimes involuntary) movement out of place and then back again) · mi hōkai (1. brief, small (sometimes involuntary) movement out of place and then back again) · lt premsai (3. (farriery)) · gml premtze (3. (farriery)) · pl dutka (3. (farriery)) · mi tākiri (1. brief, small (sometimes involuntary) movement out of place and then back again) · bg конвулсия (1. brief, small (sometimes involuntary) movement out of place and then back again) · ru тик (1. brief, small (sometimes involuntary) movement out of place and then back again) · dum kleppe (3. (farriery)) · fi nytkähdys (1. brief, small (sometimes involuntary) movement out of place and then back again) · la repāgulum (3. (farriery)) · it tic (1. brief, small (sometimes involuntary) movement out of place and then back again) · hu rángás (4. (physiology) muscle contraction) · fi bongaus (2. action of bird spotting) · fi nykäys (1. brief, small (sometimes involuntary) movement out of place and then back again) · sv brems (3. (farriery)) · gl tic (1. brief, small (sometimes involuntary) movement out of place and then back again) · es crispación (1. brief, small (sometimes involuntary) movement out of place and then back again) · grc ἐπιστομίς (3. (farriery)) · da brems (3. (farriery)) · pt tique (1. brief, small (sometimes involuntary) movement out of place and then back again) · la epistomium (3. (farriery)) · de Knuppe (3. (farriery)) · gml premese (3. (farriery)) · fi sätky (1. brief, small (sometimes involuntary) movement out of place and then back again) · dum klippe (3. (farriery)) · la prostomis, -idis (3. (farriery)) · es crispadura (1. brief, small (sometimes involuntary) movement out of place and then back again) · es crispatura (1. brief, small (sometimes involuntary) movement out of place and then back again) · sh тик (1. brief, small (sometimes involuntary) movement out of place and then back again) · gml kleppe (3. (farriery)) · fr tic (1. brief, small (sometimes involuntary) movement out of place and then back again) · la epistomis, -idis (3. (farriery)) · la postomis, -idis (3. (farriery)) · de Bremse (3. (farriery)) · ja 引き攣り (1. brief, small (sometimes involuntary) movement out of place and then back again) · gml premisse (3. (farriery)) · fr tord-nez (3. (farriery)) · ca tic (1. brief, small (sometimes involuntary) movement out of place and then back again) · bg тик (1. brief, small (sometimes involuntary) movement out of place and then back again) · cmn 抽搐 (1. brief, small (sometimes involuntary) movement out of place and then back again) · nl praam (3. (farriery)) · es acial (3. (farriery)) · tl kiso (1. brief, small (sometimes involuntary) movement out of place and then back again) · de Klappe (3. (farriery)) · sk trhnutie (1. brief, small (sometimes involuntary) movement out of place and then back again) · it spasimo (1. brief, small (sometimes involuntary) movement out of place and then back again) · fi nykäisy (1. brief, small (sometimes involuntary) movement out of place and then back again) · gml klippe (3. (farriery)) · tl kibot (1. brief, small (sometimes involuntary) movement out of place and then back again) · da bremse (3. (farriery)) · es crispamiento (1. brief, small (sometimes involuntary) movement out of place and then back again) · la cōnfībula (3. (farriery)) · grc προστομίς (3. (farriery)) · fi huulipuristin (3. (farriery)) · pt espasmo (1. brief, small (sometimes involuntary) movement out of place and then back again) · mi rare (4. (physiology) muscle contraction) · fi säpsähdys (1. brief, small (sometimes involuntary) movement out of place and then back again) · sk šklbnutie (1. brief, small (sometimes involuntary) movement out of place and then back again) · es aciar (3. (farriery)) · pl drgawka (1. brief, small (sometimes involuntary) movement out of place and then back again) · roa-leo aceal (3. (farriery)) · tl piksi (1. brief, small (sometimes involuntary) movement out of place and then back again) · yi ברעמע (3. (farriery)) · gl aceal (3. (farriery)) · de Nasenbremse (3. (farriery)) · fr morailles (3. (farriery)) · tl kislot (1. brief, small (sometimes involuntary) movement out of place and then back again) · sh trzaj (1. brief, small (sometimes involuntary) movement out of place and then back again) · de Kluppe (3. (farriery)) · sv ryckning (1. brief, small (sometimes involuntary) movement out of place and then back again) · it contrazione (4. (physiology) muscle contraction) · it tremito (4. (physiology) muscle contraction) · it spasmo (4. (physiology) muscle contraction) · it imboccatura (3. (farriery)) · sh трзај (1. brief, small (sometimes involuntary) movement out of place and then back again) · de Zucken (1. brief, small (sometimes involuntary) movement out of place and then back again) · sk myknutie (1. brief, small (sometimes involuntary) movement out of place and then back again) · ca espasme (1. brief, small (sometimes involuntary) movement out of place and then back again) · cs tik (1. brief, small (sometimes involuntary) movement out of place and then back again)