twitch

Meanings

1. 1
   verb

   make an uncontrolled, short, jerky motion

   My face is twitching.

2. 2
   noun

   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.

3. 3
   noun

   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.

4. 4
   noun

   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.

5. 5
   verb

   To perform a twitch; spasm.

   His fingers were nervously twitching.

6. 6
   verb

   To cause to twitch; spasm.

   Their feet padded softly on the ground, and they crept quite close to him, twitching their noses...

7. 7
   verb

   To jerk sharply and briefly.

   to twitch somebody's sleeve for attention

8. 8
   verb

   To spot or seek out a bird, especially a rare one.

   Marsh Sandpiper [...] This delicate ‘mini shank’ has graced our shores for the past six successive years and has become increasingly easy to twitch.

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”)).