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

25 June 2025

DETENTION

(noun) a state of being confined (usually for a short time); “his detention was politically motivated”; “the prisoner is on hold”; “he is in the custody of police”


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Coffee Trivia

According to Guinness World Records, the largest iced coffee is 14,228.1 liters and was created by Caffé Bene (South Korea), in Yangju, South Korea, on 17 July 2014. They poured iced black Americano on the giant cup that measured 3.3 meters tall and 2.62 meters wide.

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