twist

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See also: Twist

English[edit]

English Wikipedia has an article on:
Wikipedia

Etymology[edit]

PIE word
*dwóh₁

From Middle English twist, from Old English *twist, in compounds (e.g. mæsttwist (“a rope; stay”), candeltwist (“a wick”)), from Proto-Germanic *twistaz, a derivative of *twi- (“two-”) (compare also twine, between, betwixt).

Related to Saterland Frisian Twist (“discord”), Dutch twist (“twist; strife; discord”), German Low German Twist (“strife; discord”), German Zwist (“turmoil; strife; discord”), Swedish tvist (“quarrel; dispute”), Icelandic tvistur (“deuce”).

The verb is from Middle English twisten. Compare Dutch twisten, Danish tviste (“to dispute”), Swedish tvista (“to argue; dispute”).

Pronunciation[edit]

  • enPR: twĭst, IPA(key): /twɪst/, [tw̥ɪst]
  • Audio (US)(file)
  • Rhymes: -ɪst

Noun[edit]

twist (countable and uncountable, plural twists)

  1. A twisting force.
  2. Anything twisted, or the act of twisting.
    • 1906, Edith Nesbit, chapter 8, in The Railway Children:
      Peter was always proud afterwards when he remembered that, with the Bargee's furious fingers tightening on his ear, the Bargee's crimson countenance close to his own, the Bargee's hot breath on his neck, he had the courage to speak the truth.
      "I wasn't catching fish," said Peter.
      "That's not your fault, I'll be bound," said the man, giving Peter's ear a twist—not a hard one—but still a twist.
    • 1711 July 29 (Gregorian calendar)​, Joseph Addison; Richard Steele [et al.], “WEDNESDAY, July 18, 1711”, in The Spectator, number 120; republished in Alexander Chalmers, editor, The Spectator; a New Edition, […], volume II, New York, N.Y.: D[aniel] Appleton & Company, 1853, →OCLC:
      Not the least turn or twist in the fibres of any one animal which does not render them more proper for that particular animal's way of life than any other cast or texture.
  3. The form given in twisting.
    • 1712, John Arbuthnot, The History of John Bull:
      [He] shrunk at first sight of it; he found fault with the length, the thickness, and the twist.
  4. The degree of stress or strain when twisted.
  5. A type of thread made from two filaments twisted together.
    • 1596, Edmund Spenser, “Book IV, Canto II”, in The Faerie Queene. […], London: […] [John Wolfe] for William Ponsonbie, →OCLC:
      the thrid
      By griesly Lachesis was spun with paine,
      That cruell Atropos eftsoones vndid,
      With cursed knife cutting the twist in twaine […] .
    • 1808–10, William Hickey, Memoirs of a Georgian Rake, Folio Society 1995, p. 140:
      I was one morning walking arm in arm with him in St James's Park, his dress then being […] waistcoat and breeches of the same blue satin, trimmed with silver twist à la hussarde, and ermine edges.
  6. A sliver of lemon peel added to a cocktail, etc.
    • 2005, Theodore J. Albasini, The Progeny:
      Bunny sat on the only remaining stool at the leather-padded oval bar in the Iron Lounge. It was happy hour, two drinks for the price of one. She decided on a martini with a twist, and while the bartender was preparing her drink, she scanned the faces looking at the bar.
  7. A sudden bend (or short series of bends) in a road, path, etc.
    • 1899, Edith Nesbit, The Wouldbegoods:
      But here a twist in the stream brought us out from the bushes
    • 1913, Joseph C. Lincoln, chapter 1, in Mr. Pratt's Patients:
      I stumbled along through the young pines and huckleberry bushes. Pretty soon I struck into a sort of path that, I cal'lated, might lead to the road I was hunting for. It twisted and turned, and, the first thing I knew, made a sudden bend around a bunch of bayberry scrub and opened out into a big clear space like a lawn.
  8. A distortion to the meaning of a word or passage.
  9. An unexpected turn in a story, tale, etc.
  10. (preceded by definite article) A type of dance characterised by rotating one’s hips. See Twist (dance) on Wikipedia for more details.
    • 1958, Hank Ballard and the Midnighters (lyrics and music), “The Twist”:
      Come on, baby, let's do the twist / Take me by my little hand and go like this
    • 1997 April 22, Jennifer Dunning, “Surviving It All, Dismissals, Tours and Balanchine”, in New York Times:
      She taught him to do the twist, having learned it herself from an Alvin Ailey dancer at Jacob's Pillow.
  11. A rotation of the body when diving.
  12. A sprain, especially to the ankle.
  13. (obsolete) A twig.
  14. (slang) A girl, a woman.
    • 1935, Horace McCoy, They Shoot Horses, Don’t They?‎[1], Serpent’s Tail, published 2011, →ISBN, page 19:
      James and Ruby danced over beside us. ‘Did you tell her?’ he asked, looking at me. I nodded.
      ‘Wait a minute,’ Gloria said, as they started to dance away. ‘What’s the big idea of talking behind my back?’
      ‘Tell that twist to lay off me,’ James said, still speaking directly to me.
    • 1990, Miller's Crossing, 01:08:20
      (Dane, speaking about a woman character) "I'll see where the twist flops"
  15. A roll or baton of baked dough or pastry in a twisted shape.
  16. (countable, uncountable) A small roll of tobacco.
    • 1945 January and February, A Former Pupil, “Some Memories of Crewe Works—III”, in Railway Magazine, page 14:
      We spent a lot of time up on the staging of the great furnaces, trying to pick up the tricks of the trade from the taciturn furnacemen who sat around placidly smoking, or chewing twist, and occasionally throwing in more pig iron to the molten white-hot metal.
    • 1953, Samuel Beckett, Watt, Olympia Press:
      […] this Katie Byrne was a great favourite with Art and Con, to whom she always brought a gift of tobacco twist, when she came on a visit, and Art and Con were great chewers of tobacco twist, and never had enough, never never had enough tobacco twist, for their liking.
  17. A material for gun barrels, consisting of iron and steel twisted and welded together.
    Damascus twist
  18. The spiral course of the rifling of a gun barrel or a cannon.
  19. (obsolete, slang) A beverage made of brandy and gin.
  20. A strong individual tendency or bent; inclination.
    a twist toward fanaticism
  21. (slang, archaic) An appetite for food.
    • 1848 November – 1850 December, William Makepeace Thackeray, chapter 35, in The History of Pendennis. […], volume (please specify |volume=I or II), London: Bradbury and Evans, […], published 1849–1850, →OCLC:
      Hope you’ve brought good appetites with you, gentlemen. You, Doolan, I know ave, for you’ve always ad a deuce of a twist.
    • 1861, The Farmer's Magazine, page 40:
      He [the yearling bull] had a good handsome male head, and he had a capital twist. He had a spring in his rib, and was something over seven feet in girth. He was well covered, and had all the recommendations of quality, symmetry, and size.
  22. Short for hair twist.
    • 2021, Becky S. Li; Howard I. Maibach, Ethnic Skin and Hair and Other Cultural Considerations, page 154:
      The physician should evaluate for a history of tight ponytails, buns, chignons, braids, twists, weaves, cornrows, dreadlocks, sisterlocks, and hair wefts in addition to the usage of religious hair coverings.

Descendants[edit]

  • German: Twist

Translations[edit]

rotation of the body when diving
twig — see twig
The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.

Verb[edit]

twist (third-person singular simple present twists, present participle twisting, simple past and past participle twisted)

  1. To turn the ends of something, usually thread, rope etc., in opposite directions, often using force.
  2. To join together by twining one part around another.
    • 1900 May 17, L[yman] Frank Baum, chapter 15, in The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, Chicago, Ill.; New York, N.Y.: Geo[rge] M. Hill Co., →OCLC:
      "Well, one day I went up in a balloon and the ropes got twisted, so that I couldn't come down again. It went way up above the clouds, so far that a current of air struck it and carried it many, many miles away. For a day and a night I traveled through the air, and on the morning of the second day I awoke and found the balloon floating over a strange and beautiful country."
  3. To contort; to writhe; to complicate; to crook spirally; to convolve.
  4. To wreathe; to wind; to encircle; to unite by intertexture of parts.
    • 1645, Edmund Waller, To my Lord of Falkland
      longing to twist bays with that ivy
    • 1844, Robert Chambers, “Dr Thomas Burnet”, in Cyclopædia of English Literature:
      There are pillars of smoke twisted about wreaths of flame.
  5. (reflexive) To wind into; to insinuate.
    Avarice twists itself into all human concerns.
  6. To turn a knob etc.
  7. To distort or change the truth or meaning of words when repeating.
  8. To form a twist (in any of the above noun meanings).
  9. To injure (a body part) by bending it in the wrong direction.
    • 1901, Henry Lawson, Joe Wilson's Courtship:
      Then Romany went down, then we fell together, and the chaps separated us. I got another knock-down blow in, and was beginning to enjoy the novelty of it, when Romany staggered and limped.
      ‘I’ve done,’ he said. ‘I’ve twisted my ankle.’ He’d caught his heel against a tuft of grass.
    • 1912, George Bernard Shaw, “Act V”, in Pygmalion‎[2]:
      Oh, you are a devil. You can twist the heart in a girl as easy as some could twist her arms to hurt her. Mrs. Pearce warned me. Time and again she has wanted to leave you; and you always got round her at the last minute. And you don't care a bit for her. And you don't care a bit for me.
  10. (intransitive, of a path) To wind; to follow a bendy or wavy course; to have many bends.
    • 1913, Joseph C. Lincoln, chapter 1, in Mr. Pratt's Patients:
      I stumbled along through the young pines and huckleberry bushes. Pretty soon I struck into a sort of path that, I cal'lated, might lead to the road I was hunting for. It twisted and turned, and, the first thing I knew, made a sudden bend around a bunch of bayberry scrub and opened out into a big clear space like a lawn.
    • 1926, Howard Phillips Lovecraft, He:
      My coming to New York had been a mistake; for whereas I had looked for poignant wonder and inspiration in the teeming labyrinths of ancient streets that twist endlessly from forgotten courts and squares and waterfronts to courts and squares and waterfronts equally forgotten, and in the Cyclopean modern towers and pinnacles that rise blackly Babylonian under waning moons, I had found instead only a sense of horror and oppression which threatened to master, paralyze, and annihilate me.
  11. (transitive) To cause to rotate.
    • 1911, John Masefield, chapter 8, in Jim Davis:
      The tide seized us and swept us along, and in the races where this happened there were sucking whirlpools, strong enough to twist us round.
  12. (intransitive) To dance the twist (a type of dance characterised by twisting one's hips).
  13. (transitive) To coax.
    • 1932, Robert E. Howard, Dark Shanghai:
      "On the three-thousand-dollar reward John Bain is offerin' for the return of his sister," said Ace. "Now listen--I know a certain big Chinee had her kidnapped outa her 'rickshaw out at the edge of the city one evenin'. He's been keepin' her prisoner in his house, waitin' a chance to send her up-country to some bandit friends of his'n; then they'll be in position to twist a big ransome outa John Bain, see? [...]"
  14. (card games) In the game of blackjack (pontoon or twenty-one), to be dealt another card.

Antonyms[edit]

(in blackjack, be dealt another card):: stick; stay

Translations[edit]

to injure (a body part) by bending it in the wrong direction
The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.

Derived terms[edit]

terms derived from the noun and verb "twist"

Anagrams[edit]

Czech[edit]

Etymology[edit]

Borrowed from English twist.

Noun[edit]

twist m inan

  1. twist (dance)

Declension[edit]

Declension of twist (hard masculine inanimate)
singular plural
nominative twist twisty
genitive twistu twistů
dative twistu twistům
accusative twist twisty
vocative twiste twisty
locative twistu twistech
instrumental twistem twisty

Further reading[edit]

  • twist in Kartotéka Novočeského lexikálního archivu
  • twist in Slovník spisovného jazyka českého, 1960–1971, 1989

Dutch[edit]

Etymology[edit]

From English twist.

Pronunciation[edit]

Noun[edit]

twist m (uncountable, diminutive twistje n)

  1. strife, discord
  2. dispute
  3. twist: dance, turn

Derived terms[edit]

Anagrams[edit]

Finnish[edit]

Etymology[edit]

From English twist.

Pronunciation[edit]

  • IPA(key): /ˈtwist/, [ˈt̪wis̠t]
  • IPA(key): /ˈtʋist/, [ˈt̪ʋis̠t]
  • Rhymes: -ist
  • Syllabification(key): twist

Noun[edit]

twist

  1. twist (dance)

Declension[edit]

Inflection of twist (Kotus type 5/risti, no gradation)
nominative twist twistit
genitive twistin twistien
partitive twistiä twistejä
illative twistiin twisteihin
singular plural
nominative twist twistit
accusative nom. twist twistit
gen. twistin
genitive twistin twistien
partitive twistiä twistejä
inessive twistissä twisteissä
elative twististä twisteistä
illative twistiin twisteihin
adessive twistillä twisteillä
ablative twistiltä twisteiltä
allative twistille twisteille
essive twistinä twisteinä
translative twistiksi twisteiksi
instructive — twistein
abessive twistittä twisteittä
comitative See the possessive forms below.
Possessive forms of twist (type risti)
first-person singular possessor
singular plural
nominative twistini twistini
accusative nom. twistini twistini
gen. twistini
genitive twistini twistieni
partitive twistiäni twistejäni
inessive twistissäni twisteissäni
elative twististäni twisteistäni
illative twistiini twisteihini
adessive twistilläni twisteilläni
ablative twistiltäni twisteiltäni
allative twistilleni twisteilleni
essive twistinäni twisteinäni
translative twistikseni twisteikseni
instructive — —
abessive twistittäni twisteittäni
comitative — twisteineni
second-person singular possessor
singular plural
nominative twistisi twistisi
accusative nom. twistisi twistisi
gen. twistisi
genitive twistisi twistiesi
partitive twistiäsi twistejäsi
inessive twistissäsi twisteissäsi
elative twististäsi twisteistäsi
illative twistiisi twisteihisi
adessive twistilläsi twisteilläsi
ablative twistiltäsi twisteiltäsi
allative twistillesi twisteillesi
essive twistinäsi twisteinäsi
translative twistiksesi twisteiksesi
instructive — —
abessive twistittäsi twisteittäsi
comitative — twisteinesi
first-person plural possessor
singular plural
nominative twistimme twistimme
accusative nom. twistimme twistimme
gen. twistimme
genitive twistimme twistiemme
partitive twistiämme twistejämme
inessive twistissämme twisteissämme
elative twististämme twisteistämme
illative twistiimme twisteihimme
adessive twistillämme twisteillämme
ablative twistiltämme twisteiltämme
allative twistillemme twisteillemme
essive twistinämme twisteinämme
translative twistiksemme twisteiksemme
instructive — —
abessive twistittämme twisteittämme
comitative — twisteinemme
second-person plural possessor
singular plural
nominative twistinne twistinne
accusative nom. twistinne twistinne
gen. twistinne
genitive twistinne twistienne
partitive twistiänne twistejänne
inessive twistissänne twisteissänne
elative twististänne twisteistänne
illative twistiinne twisteihinne
adessive twistillänne twisteillänne
ablative twistiltänne twisteiltänne
allative twistillenne twisteillenne
essive twistinänne twisteinänne
translative twistiksenne twisteiksenne
instructive — —
abessive twistittänne twisteittänne
comitative — twisteinenne
third-person possessor
singular plural
nominative twistinsä twistinsä
accusative nom. twistinsä twistinsä
gen. twistinsä
genitive twistinsä twistiensä
partitive twistiään
twistiänsä 		twistejään
twistejänsä
inessive twistissään
twistissänsä 		twisteissään
twisteissänsä
elative twististään
twististänsä 		twisteistään
twisteistänsä
illative twistiinsä twisteihinsä
adessive twistillään
twistillänsä 		twisteillään
twisteillänsä
ablative twistiltään
twistiltänsä 		twisteiltään
twisteiltänsä
allative twistilleen
twistillensä 		twisteilleen
twisteillensä
essive twistinään
twistinänsä 		twisteinään
twisteinänsä
translative twistikseen
twistiksensä 		twisteikseen
twisteiksensä
instructive — —
abessive twistittään
twistittänsä 		twisteittään
twisteittänsä
comitative — twisteineen
twisteinensä

Derived terms[edit]

French[edit]

Etymology[edit]

Borrowed from English twist.

Pronunciation[edit]

Noun[edit]

twist m (plural twists)

  1. twist (dance)

Derived terms[edit]

Further reading[edit]

Middle English[edit]

Alternative forms[edit]

Etymology[edit]

From Old English *twist (attested in compounds), from Proto-West Germanic *twist, from Proto-Germanic *twistaz.

Pronunciation[edit]

Noun[edit]

twist (plural twistes)

  1. The flat part of a hinge (less specifically the entire hinge)
  2. A twig or branch.
  3. A groin (juncture between the chest and thighs)

Derived terms[edit]

Descendants[edit]

References[edit]

Portuguese[edit]

Etymology[edit]

Unadapted borrowing from English twist.

Noun[edit]

twist m (uncountable)

  1. twist (type of dance)

Romanian[edit]

Etymology[edit]

Unadapted borrowing from English twist or French twist.

Noun[edit]

twist n (plural twisturi)

  1. twist (dance)

Declension[edit]

Declension of twist
singular plural
indefinite articulation definite articulation indefinite articulation definite articulation
nominative/accusative (un) twist twistul (niște) twisturi twisturile
genitive/dative (unui) twist twistului (unor) twisturi twisturilor
vocative twistule twisturilor

Spanish[edit]

Etymology[edit]

Unadapted borrowing from English twist.

Pronunciation[edit]

Noun[edit]

twist m (plural twists)

  1. twist (clarification of this definition is needed)

Usage notes[edit]

According to Royal Spanish Academy (RAE) prescriptions, unadapted foreign words should be written in italics in a text printed in roman type, and vice versa, and in quotation marks in a manuscript text or when italics are not available. In practice, this RAE prescription is not always followed.

Further reading[edit]

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