twitch

C1 Topic:Describing Qualities

US /twɪt͡ʃ/ See IPA manual

Freq #16472

Meanings

1

verb
To make a sudden, small, uncontrolled movement.

His left eye began to twitch whenever he felt nervous.
2

noun
A sudden, small, often involuntary movement.

I saw a little twitch in the man's face and knew he was lying.
3

verb
To pull something sharply and briefly.

The child twitched her mother's sleeve to get her attention.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

1 verb · to make a sudden, small,... jerk

2 noun · a sudden, small, often... tic spasm

3 verb · to pull something sharply... jerk

Word family

Forms twitchedtwitchestwitchingtwitchy

Derived forms atwitchfast-twitchslow-twitchtwitchabletwitchertwitchinguntwitchable

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”)).

twicchen Middle English *twiċċan Old English *twikkijan Proto-West Germanic

View etymology graph ->

External links

# twitch

**Type:** Word
**Level:** C1
**Part of speech:** verb, noun
**IPA (US):** /twɪt͡ʃ/
**Frequency rank:** 16472

## Meanings
1. To make a sudden, small, uncontrolled movement.
2. A sudden, small, often involuntary movement.
3. To pull something sharply and briefly.

## Examples
- His left eye began to twitch whenever he felt nervous.
- I saw a little twitch in the man's face and knew he was lying.
- The child twitched her mother's sleeve to get her attention.

## Derived Forms
- atwitch
- fast-twitch
- slow-twitch
- twitchable
- twitcher
- twitching
- untwitchable

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: twicchen
- Root: *twiċċan
- Root: *twikkijan

## 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”)).

## AI Etymology
Twitch is 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”)). In present-day use, it can mean to make a sudden, small, uncontrolled movement, or a sudden, small, often involuntary movement. Derived formations include atwitch, fast-twitch, slow-twitch, twitchable, twitcher.

## Topics
- Describing Qualities

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twitch

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