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