Synonyms

tic

[tik] Origin

tic

[tik]
noun
1.
Pathology.
a.
a sudden, spasmodic, painless, involuntary muscular contraction, as of the face.
2.
a persistent or recurrent behavioral trait; personal quirk: her distinctive verbal tics.

Origin:
1790–1800; < French (of expressive orig.)

tic, tick.

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Tic is always a great word to know.
So is doohickey. Does it mean:
a gadget; dingus; thingumbob.
a calculus or concretion found in the stomach or intestines of certain animals, esp. ruminants, formerly reputed to be an effective remedy for poison.
Dictionary.com Unabridged

-tic

a suffix, equivalent in meaning to -ic, occurring in adjectives of Greek origin (analytic), used especially in the formation of adjectives from nouns with stems in -sis: hematotic; neurotic.

Origin:
< Greek -tikos, extracted from adjectives derived with -ikos -ic from agent nouns ending in -tēs; compare hieratic
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2012.
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Collins
World English Dictionary
tic (tɪk)
 
n
1.  spasmodic twitching of a particular group of muscles
2.  See tic douloureux
 
[C19: from French, of uncertain origin; compare Italian ticche]

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
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Etymonline
Word Origin & History

tic
twitching of a facial muscle, 1822, often a shortening of tic douloureux "severe facial neuralgia," lit. "painful twitch" (1800), from Fr. tic "a twitching disease of horses" (1611), of unknown origin. Klein suggests an imitative origin; Fr. etymologists compare it to It. ticchio "whim, caprice."
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
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American Heritage
Medical Dictionary

tic (tĭk)
n.
A habitual spasmodic muscular movement or contraction, usually of the face or extremities. Also called habit spasm.

The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.
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Slang Dictionary

tongue in cheek definition


and TIC
  1. phr. & comp. abb.
    a phrase said when the speaker is joking or not being sincere. : My comment was made TIC. Don't take me seriously.
Dictionary of American Slang and Colloquial Expressions by Richard A. Spears.Fourth Edition.
Copyright 2007. Published by McGraw Hill.
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American Heritage
Abbreviations & Acronyms
TIC
  1. tongue in cheek

  2. total inorganic carbon

The American Heritage® Abbreviations Dictionary, Third Edition
Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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