twitter

From Wiktionary, the free dictionary
Jump to navigation Jump to search
See also: Twitter

English

[edit]

Pronunciation

[edit]

Etymology 1

[edit]

From Middle English twitren, twiteren, from Old English *twiterian, from Proto-West Germanic *twitwiʀōn, from Proto-Germanic *twitwizōną (to chirp; twitter).[1] Cognate with Low German twitteren (to twitter), German zwitzern, zwitschern (to twitter). Compare also Dutch kwetteren (to twitter), Danish kvidre (to twitter), Swedish kvittra (to twitter), dialectal Swedish tittra (to twitter).

Noun

[edit]

twitter (countable and uncountable, plural twitters)

  1. (uncountable) The sound of a succession of chirps as uttered by birds.
    I often listen to the twitter of the birds in the park.
  2. (uncountable, electronics) Unwanted flicker that occurs in interlaced displays when the image contains vertical detail that approaches the horizontal resolution of the video format.
    • 1986, Second International Conference on Simulators: 7-11 September 1986, IEEE, page 145:
      Interline twitter occurs on interlaced displays at half the field-rate.
  3. (countable) A tremulous broken sound.
  4. (countable) A slight trembling of the nerves.
  5. (countable, informal or British, regional) Chiefly in the form in a twitter: a state of excitement or nervousness; a twit.
Derived terms
[edit]
Translations
[edit]

Verb

[edit]

twitter (third-person singular simple present twitters, present participle twittering, simple past and past participle twittered)

  1. (intransitive) To utter a succession of chirps.
  2. (intransitive, transitive) (of a person) To talk in an excited or nervous manner.
  3. To make the sound of a half-suppressed laugh; to titter; to giggle.
  4. To have a slight trembling of the nerves; to be excited or agitated.
  5. (obsolete, transitive) To twit; to reproach or upbraid.
    • 1749, Henry Fielding, The History of Tom Jones, a Foundling, volumes (please specify |volume=I to VI), London: A[ndrew] Millar, [], →OCLC:
      I have repented of it many’s the good time and oft. And if he was so good to forgive me a word spoken in haste or so, it doth not become such a one as you to twitter me. He was a husband to me, he was; and if ever I did make use of an ill word or so in a passion, I never called him rascal []
  6. Alternative form of Twitter
    Synonym: tweet
    • 2009 March 2, Michelle Levi, “McCain Criticizes Obama On The Senate Floor”, in CBS News[1], retrieved 2 March 2009:
      In addition to listing specific earmarks he finds the most reprehensible, McCain said he has been twittering the “top ten” most egregious
Derived terms
[edit]
Translations
[edit]

Etymology 2

[edit]

Origin unknown; possibly related to twine, twist, and twirl.[2]

Noun

[edit]

twitter (plural twitters)

  1. (Northern England, Scotland, weaving, archaic) A knot or other defect in a thread or yarn which hinders spinning or weaving; a twit.
Translations
[edit]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ twitter, v. and n.”, in Lexico, Dictionary.com; Oxford University Press, 2019–2022.
  2. ^ twitter, n.2”, in OED Online Paid subscription required, Oxford, Oxfordshire: Oxford University Press, July 2023.

French

[edit]

Alternative forms

[edit]

Etymology

[edit]

From English Twitter.

Pronunciation

[edit]

Verb

[edit]

twitter

  1. (transitive, intransitive, Internet) to tweet (to post to Twitter)

Conjugation

[edit]
[edit]