TWIG

branchlet, twig, sprig

(noun) a small branch or division of a branch (especially a terminal division); usually applied to branches of the current or preceding year

twig

(verb) branch out in a twiglike manner; “The lightning bolt twigged in several directions”

Source: WordNet® 3.1


Etymology 1

Noun

twig (plural twigs)

A small thin branch of a tree or bush.

Synonyms

• tillow

Verb

twig (third-person singular simple present twigs, present participle twigging, simple past and past participle twigged)

(transitive) To beat with twigs.

Etymology 2

Verb

twig (third-person singular simple present twigs, present participle twigging, simple past and past participle twigged)

(colloquial, regional) To realise something; to catch on; to recognize someone or something.

To understand the meaning of (a person); to comprehend.

To observe slyly; also, to perceive; to discover.

Synonyms

• (to realise something): clock, get it, notice; see also identify

• (to understand the meaning): fathom, figure out, grasp, ken, work out

• (to observe slyly): check out, peep, spy on, surveil

Etymology 3

Verb

twig (third-person singular simple present twigs, present participle twigging, simple past and past participle twigged)

(obsolete, Scotland) To twitch; to pull; to tweak.

Source: Wiktionary


Twig, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Twigged; p. pr. & vb. n. Twigging.] Etym: [Cf. Tweak.]

Definition: To twitch; to pull; to tweak. [Obs. or Scot.]

Twig, v. t. Etym: [Gael. tuig, or Ir. tuigim I understand.]

1. To understand the meaning of; to comprehend; as, do you twig me [Colloq.] Marryat.

2. To observe slyly; also, to perceive; to discover. "Now twig him; now mind him." Foote. As if he were looking right into your eyes and twigged something there which you had half a mind to conceal. Hawthorne.

Twig, n. Etym: [AS. twig; akin to D. twijg, OHG. zwig, zwi, G. zweig, and probably to E. two.]

Definition: A small shoot or branch of a tree or other plant, of no definite length or size. The Britons had boats made of willow twigs, covered on the outside with hides. Sir T. Raleigh. Twig borer (Zoöl.), any one of several species of small beetles which bore into twigs of shrubs and trees, as the apple-tree twig borer (Amphicerus bicaudatus).

– Twig girdler. (Zoöl.) See Girdler, 3.

– Twig rush (Bot.), any rushlike plant of the genus Cladium having hard, and sometimes prickly-edged, leaves or stalks. See Saw grass, under Saw.

Twig, v. t.

Definition: To beat with twigs.

Source: Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary 1913 Edition



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Word of the Day

1 April 2025

ANYMORE

(adverb) at the present or from now on; usually used with a negative; “Alice doesn’t live here anymore”; “the children promised not to quarrel any more”


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Coffee Trivia

Coffee has initially been a food – chewed, not sipped. Early African tribes consume coffee by grinding the berries together, adding some animal fat, and rolling the treats into tiny edible energy balls.

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