twerk

English

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /twɛɹk/, [tʰw̥ɝk]
• IPA^(key): /twɜːk/, [tʰw̥ɜːk]

• Audio (AU):

  (file)

• Rhymes: -ɜː(ɹ)k

Etymology 1

Blend of twerp +‎ jerk.

Noun

twerk (plural twerks)

1. (slang, dated, US) A puny or insignificant person, generally male; a twerp.
   • 1930, Walter Dumaux Edmonds, The Big Barn, page 207:

     "'...but when they load a pack onto you, what'll you do? A little twerk like you?'"

   • 1932, Forum and Century vol. 87 [1]:

     "But even then the poor twerk's whiskers and little eyes looked kind of wistful as if the clothes had got him and was taking him somewhere..."

   • 2003, Bernard Kamoroff, Small Time Operator [2], →ISBN, page 19,

     You don't need those twerks who walk in off the street.

Usage notes

Found primarily in the 1930s-era works of Walter Dumaux Edmonds.

Etymology 2

Blend of twitch +‎ jerk.

Noun

twerk (plural twerks)

1. A fitful movement similar to a twitch or jerk.
   • 1898, William Brigham, "Director's Report" in Occasional Papers of the Bernice Pauahi Museum vol. 1 no. 1, page 42:

     "Not so the Freycineti, who looked me over critically, elevated his head crest, and giving his tail an odd little twerk, proceeded to hop deliberately up the limb like a sap-sucker..."

   • 1920, Lilian C. McNamara Garis, The Girl Scouts at Sea Crest: Or, The Wig Wag Rescue‎^[3],], page 86:

     "I hardly realize it yet that you are my really truly coz," and she gave the girl's long, brown braids a familiar twerk.

   • 1950, Robert S. Close, Love Me Sailor‎^[4],], page 86:

     With a quick twerk at her shift, the girl lifted it to her rounded belly, and squatted nakedly on his lap.

2. A dance involving sexual movements of the hips and buttocks

Verb

twerk (third-person singular simple present twerks, present participle twerking, simple past and past participle twerked)

1. To twitch or jerk.
   • 1985, Criena Rohan, Down by the Docks, page 151

     […] in the language of the unsophisticated Port Melbourne suburbanite a bed was still something primarily intended for love-making – all the eyebrow-raising and moustache-twerking in Jo'burg couldn't alter that.

   • 2005, Florence Hall Abssi, The Call, page 613

     "He twerked an eyebrow at his wife."

2. To move the body in a sexually suggestive twisting or gyrating fashion.
   • 2005, Euftis Emery, Off the Chain, →ISBN, page 73,

     Gaea then stood up over me and turned so that her butt was facing me. She then had the nerve to start twerking.

   • 2006, Lawrence Christopher, Ghettoway Weekend, →ISBN, page 96,

     "Shortie really knows how to twerk it don't she?" Marcus boasted, while still recording.

   • 2006, Justin Timberlake feat. Timbaland, "SexyBack", FutureSex/LoveSounds

     Let me see what ya twerkin with

3. To dance in a sexually suggestive manner, often involving rapid movement.
   • 2013, Nichole Smith, ABC News, High School Students Suspended for Twerking

     Twerking, as it is known in the hip-hop community, is a hard-hitting, rump-shaking dance move that celebrities including Beyonce and Miley Cyrus have been known to bust out, but it has also gotten a group of San Diego high school students suspended.

Translations

to move the body in a suggestive manner

• Finnish: twerkata (fi)
• Maori: tīonioni
• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}
• Persian: كچول (fa), کاچول (fa)
• Spanish: perrear (es), sandunguear (es)
• Turkish: şeveke (tr)

Usage notes

In “sexually suggestive movements, especially dance”, particularly popularized since c. 2000 by US hip-hop.

Derived terms

• twerker

Etymology 3

Onomatopoeia, possibly coined by Roger Tory Peterson.

Noun

twerk (plural twerks)

1. An abrupt call, such as that made by the California quail.
   • 1961, Roger Tory Peterson, A Field Guide to Western Birds‎^[5], page 67:

     Note of male on territory, a loud kurr or twerk.