TWITCH

twitch, twitching, vellication

(noun) a sudden muscle spasm; especially one caused by a nervous condition

twitch, jerk

(verb) make an uncontrolled, short, jerky motion; “his face is twitching”

twitch

(verb) move or pull with a sudden motion

pinch, squeeze, twinge, tweet, nip, twitch

(verb) squeeze tightly between the fingers; “He pinched her behind”; “She squeezed the bottle”

jerk, twitch

(verb) move with abrupt, seemingly uncontrolled motions; “The patient’s legs were jerkings”

flip, twitch

(verb) toss with a sharp movement so as to cause to turn over in the air

Source: WordNet® 3.1

Proper noun

Twitch

Short for Twitch.tv.

Etymology 1

Noun

twitch (countable and uncountable, plural twitches)

A brief, small (sometimes involuntary) movement out of place and then back again; a spasm.

(informal) Action of spotting or seeking out a bird, especially a rare one.

(farriery) 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.

Synonym: barnacle

(physiology) A brief, contractile response of a skeletal muscle elicited by a single maximal volley of impulses in the neurons supplying it.

(mining) The sudden narrowing almost to nothing of a vein of ore.

(birdwatching) A trip taken in order to observe a rare bird.

Verb

twitch (third-person singular simple present twitches, present participle twitching, simple past and past participle twitched)

(intransitive) To perform a twitch; spasm.

(transitive) To jerk sharply and briefly.

(obsolete) To exert oneself. [15th-17th c.]

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

Usage notes

When used of birdwatchers by ignorant outsiders, this term frequently carries a negative connotation.

Etymology 2

Noun

twitch (uncountable)

couch grass (Elymus repens; a species of grass, often considered as a weed)

Source: Wiktionary

Twitch, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Twitched; p. pr. & vb. n. Twitching.] Etym: [OE. twicchen, fr. (doubtful) AS. twiccian; akin to AS. angeltwicca a worm used for bait, literally, a hook twitcher, LG. twikken to tweak, G. zwicken. Cf. Tweak.]

Definition: To pull with a sudden jerk; to pluck with a short, quick motion; to snatch; as, to twitch one by the sleeve; to twitch a thing out of another's hand; to twitch off clusters of grapes. Thrice they twitched the diamond in her ear. Pope.

Twitch, n.

1. The act of twitching; a pull with a jerk; a short, sudden, quick pull; as, a twitch by the sleeve.

2. A short, spastic contraction of the fibers or muscles; a simple muscular contraction; as, convulsive twitches; a twitch in the side.

3. (Far.)

Definition: 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. By twisting the stick the compression is made sufficiently painful to keep the animal quiet during a slight surgical operation. J. H. Walsh.

Source: Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary 1913 Edition