英语词源字典 - 在线词源网站

twinge (n.)[twinge 词源字典]: 1540s, "a pinch, a nipping," from obsolete verb twinge "to pinch, tweak," from Old English twengan "to pinch," from Proto-Germanic *twangjan (cognates: Old Frisian thwinga, Old Norse þvinga, Danish tvinge, Dutch dwingen, Old High German thwingan, German zwingen "to compel, force"), from PIE *twengh- "to press in on" (see thong). Meaning "sharp, sudden minor pain" is recorded from c. 1600. Figurative sense (with reference to shame, remorse, etc.) is recorded from 1620s.[twinge etymology, twinge origin, 英语词源]
twink (n.): c. 1400, in phrase in a twynk of oon eye "suddenly, almost instantaneously," from twink (v.) "to wink," probably from Old English twincan (see twinkle (v.)). Meaning "a twinkle" is from 1830. Meaning "young sexually attractive person" is recorded from 1963, probably from Twinkie; but compare 1920s-30s British homosexual slang twank in a similar sense.
Twinkie (n.): snack food, supposedly invented and named 1930 by Jimmy Dewar, baker for the Chicago branch of Continental Baking Co. (later Hostess); said to have been inspired by twinkle.
twinkle (v.): Old English twinclian "to twinkle, wink," frequentative of twincan "to wink, blink;" related to Middle High German zwinken, German zwinkern, and probably somehow imitative.Related: Twinkled; twinkling. The noun is recorded from 1540s. Phrase in the twinkling of an eye "in a very brief time" is attested from c. 1300.
twirl (v.): 1590s, "move round rapidly" (intransitive), of uncertain origin, possibly connected with Old English þwirl "a stirrer, handle of a churn," and Old Norse þvara "pot-sticker, stirrer." Or on another guess a blend of twist and whirl. Transitive sense, "cause to revolve rapidly," is from 1620s. Related: Twirled; twirling.
twirl (n.): 1590s, "rapid circular motion," from twirl (v.).
twirler (n.): 1808, agent noun from twirl (v.). As baseball slang for "pitcher," by 1891.
twist (n.): mid-14c., "flat part of a hinge" (now obsolete), probably from Old English -twist "divided object; fork; rope" (as in mæsttwist "mast rope, stay;" candeltwist "wick"), from Proto-Germanic *twis-, from PIE root *dwo- (see two). Original senses suggest "dividing in two" (cognates: cognate Old Norse tvistra "to divide, separate," Gothic twis- "in two, asunder," Dutch twist, German zwist "quarrel, discord," though these senses have no equivalent in English), but later ones are of "combining two into one," hence the original sense of the word may be "rope made of two strands."

Meaning "thread or cord composed of two or more fibers" is recorded from 1550s. Meaning "act or action of turning on an axis" is attested from 1570s. Sense of "beverage consisting of two or more liquors" is first attested c. 1700. Meaning "thick cord of tobacco" is from 1791. Meaning "curled piece of lemon, etc., used to flavor a drink" is recorded from 1958. Sense of "unexpected plot development" is from 1941.

The popular rock 'n' roll dance craze is from 1961, so called from the motion involved, but twist was used to describe popular dances in 1894 and again in the 1920s. To get one's knickers in a twist "be unduly agitated" is British slang first attested 1971.
twist (v.): c. 1200 (implied in past tense form twaste), "to wring," from twist (n.). Sense of "to spin two or more strands of yarn into thread" is attested from late 15c. Meaning "to move in a winding fashion" is recorded from 1630s. To twist the lion's tail was U.S. slang (1895) for "to provoke British feeling" (the lion being the symbol of Britain). To twist (someone's) arm in the figurative sense of "pressure (to do something)" is from 1945. Related: Twisted; twisting.
twist-off (adj.): of bottle or jar caps, 1959, from the verbal phrase; see from twist (v.) + off (adv.).
twisted (adj.): late 15c., "intertwined, past participle adjective from twist (v.). Meaning "perverted, mentally strange" (1900) probably is from twist (n.) in a sense of "mental peculiarity, perversion" attested by 1811.
twister (n.): late 15c., "one who spins thread," agent noun from twist (v.). Meaning "tornado" is attested from 1881, American English.
twisty (adj.): 1857, "full of windings," from twist (n.) + -y (2). Meaning "attractively feminine," 1970s slang, is from twist "girl" (1928), apparently from rhyming slang twist and twirl (1924).
twit (v.): "to blame, reproach, taunt, upbraid," 1520s, twite, shortened form of Middle English atwite, from Old English ætwitan "to blame, reproach," from æt "at" + witan "to blame," from Proto-Germanic *witanan "to look after, guard, ascribe to, reproach" (cognates: Old English wite, Old Saxon witi, Old Norse viti "punishment, torture;" Old High German wizzi "punishment," wizan "to punish;" Dutch verwijten, Old High German firwizan, German verweisen "to reproach, reprove," Gothic fraweitan "to avenge"), from PIE root *weid- "to see" (see vision). For sense evolution, compare Latin animadvertere, literally "to give heed to, observe," later "to chastise, censure, punish." Related: Twitted; twitting. As a noun meaning "a taunt" from 1520s.
twit (n.): "foolish, stupid and ineffectual person," 1934, British slang, popular 1950s-60s, crossed over to U.S. with British sitcoms. It probably developed from twit (v.) in the sense of "reproach," but it may be influenced by nitwit.
twitch (v.): late 12c., to-twic-chen "pull apart with a quick jerk," related to Old English twiccian "to pluck, gather, catch hold of," from Proto-Germanic *twikjon- (cognates: Low German twicken, Dutch twikken, Old High German gizwickan, German zwicken "to pinch, tweak"). Related: Twitched; twitching.
twitch (n.): 1520s, from twitch (v.).
twitter (v.): late 14c., twiteren, in reference to birds, of imitative origin (compare Old High German zwizziron, German zwitschern, Danish kvidre, Old Swedish kvitra). The noun meaning "condition of tremulous excitement" is attested from 1670s. The microblogging service with the 140-character limit was introduced in 2006. The following is considered an unrelated word of obscure origin:
TWITTER. 1. "That part of a thread that is spun too small." Yarn is said to be twined to twitters, when twined too small, S. Hence, to twitter yarn, to spin it unequally, A. Bor. Ray.
2. It is transferred to any person or thing that is slender or feeble. It is said of a lank delicate girl: "She is a mere twitter," S. [Jamieson, "Etymological Dictionary of the Scottish Language," Edinburgh, 1808]
twitterpated (adj.): 1942, apparently first attested in the Walt Disney movie "Bambi" (there also was a song by that name but it was not in the studio release of the film), a past participle adjective formed from twitter in the "tremulous excitement" noun sense (1670s) + pate (n.2) "head" (compare flutterpated, 1894).
Thumper: Why are they acting that way?
Friend Owl: Why, don't you know? They're twitterpated.
Flower, Bambi, Thumper: Twitterpated?
Friend Owl: Yes. Nearly everybody gets twitterpated in the springtime. For example: You're walking along, minding your own business. You're looking neither to the left, nor to the right, when all of a sudden you run smack into a pretty face. Woo-woo! You begin to get weak in the knees. Your head's in a whirl. And then you feel light as a feather, and before you know it, you're walking on air. And then you know what? You're knocked for a loop, and you completely lose your head!
Thumper: Gosh, that's awful.
twizzle (v.): "to twist, form by twisting" (transitive), 1788, apparently a made-up word suggested by twist. Related: Twizzled; twizzling.