Unnumbered source etymology
Original entry ↗To pinch and pull with a sudden jerk and twist; to twitch. · To adjust slightly; to fine-tune. · To tease, to annoy; to get under the skin of (someone, typically so as to irritate them, or by extension to enamor, frighten, etc). · To abuse methamphetamines, especially crystal meth.
A sharp pinch or jerk; a twist or twitch. · A slight adjustment or modification. · Trouble; distress; tweag. · A prostitute.
From Middle English twikken, from Old English twiccian (“to pluck”), from Proto-West Germanic *twekkōn (“to fasten; clamp; pinch”). Related to twitch. The drug-related sense may be a blend of twitch and freak.
Relationships mentioned by the source
These are extracted mentions, not a timeline or a verified sequence of immediate parents.
This page abbreviates 6 auxiliary source items. The etymology narrative is not shortened. Omission counts are available in the audit fields below; consult the original for complete auxiliary material.
Inspect preserved source fields
Raw extraction fields are retained for auditing. Their order does not establish ancestry.
{
"templates": [
{
"name": "inh",
"args": {
"1": "en",
"2": "enm",
"3": "twikken"
},
"expansion": "Middle English twikken"
},
{
"name": "inh",
"args": {
"1": "en",
"2": "ang",
"3": "twiccian",
"t": "to pluck"
},
"expansion": "Old English twiccian (“to pluck”)"
},
{
"name": "inh",
"args": {
"1": "en",
"2": "gmw-pro",
"3": "*twekkōn",
"t": "to fasten; clamp; pinch"
},
"expansion": "Proto-West Germanic *twekkōn (“to fasten; clamp; pinch”)"
}
],
"links": [
[
"twikken",
"twikken#Middle_English"
],
[
"twiccian",
"twiccian#Old_English"
],
[
"*twekkōn",
"Reconstruction:Proto-West Germanic/twekkōn"
],
[
"twitch",
"twitch#English"
],
[
"twitch",
"twitch#English"
],
[
"freak",
"freak#English"
]
],
"references": [],
"descendants": [],
"lexical": [
{
"pos": "verb",
"glosses": [
"To pinch and pull with a sudden jerk and twist; to twitch.",
"To adjust slightly; to fine-tune.",
"To tease, to annoy; to get under the skin of (someone, typically so as to irritate them, or by extension to enamor, frighten, etc).",
"To abuse methamphetamines, especially crystal meth."
],
"tags": [
"transitive",
"informal",
"US",
"intransitive",
"slang"
],
"recordId": "b1d3ae7658532e9b2a23213d689e37ff2c35bc32ae27938beae50a888295690e",
"rawRecordSha256": "5b9979048d48086949a3aa453591f9ed3ce138cb3eef8cf7d9fb4b38a654a0d9",
"sourceRecordOrdinal": 240512
},
{
"pos": "noun",
"glosses": [
"A sharp pinch or jerk; a twist or twitch.",
"A slight adjustment or modification.",
"Trouble; distress; tweag.",
"A prostitute."
],
"tags": [
"obsolete",
"slang"
],
"recordId": "dbe341065cc10816d3388cab0207b8e5f3522a8f9519e0a040d39285b6aa7dce",
"rawRecordSha256": "a9c051f40e425ad75f062158963a1ade66da37118f31004eec62082e731c94d3",
"sourceRecordOrdinal": 240513
}
],
"omittedAuxiliaryFields": {
"templates": 0,
"links": 0,
"references": 0,
"descendants": 0,
"lexicalRecords": 0,
"lexicalSenses": 6,
"glosses": 0
}
}