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twit - 7 dictionary results

twit

1  [twit] ,verb, twit⋅ted, twit⋅ting, noun
Use twit in a Sentence
–verb (used with object)
1. to taunt, tease, ridicule, etc., with reference to anything embarrassing; gibe at.
2. to reproach or upbraid.
–noun
3. an act of twitting.
4. a derisive reproach; taunt; gibe.
Origin:
1520–30; aph. var. of obs. atwite, ME atwiten, OE ætwītan to taunt, equiv. to æt- at 1 + wītan to blame

twit

2  [twit] ,
–noun
a weak or thin place in yarn caused by uneven spinning.
Origin:
1810–20; orig. uncert.

twit

3  [twit] ,
–noun Informal.
an insignificant or bothersome person.
Origin:
1920–25; perh. orig. n. deriv. of twit 1 , i.e., “one who twits others,” but altered in sense by assoc. with expressive words with tw- ( twaddle, twat, twerp, etc.) and by rhyme with nitwit

twit

4  [twit] ,
–noun
an excited state; dither: to be in a twit about company coming.
Origin:
prob. shortened from twitter
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
Cite This Source Link To twit
twit   (twĭt)   
tr.v.   twit·ted, twit·ting, twits
To taunt, ridicule, or tease, especially for embarrassing mistakes or faults. See Synonyms at ridicule.
n.  
  1. The act or an instance of twitting.
  2. A reproach, gibe, or taunt.
  3. Slang A foolishly annoying person.

[Short for obsolete atwite, from Middle English atwiten, from Old English ætwītan : æt, at; see at1 + wītan, to reproach; see weid- in Indo-European roots.]
twit'ter n.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Twit

Twit\, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Twitted; p. pr. & vb. n. Twitting.] [OE. atwiten, AS. [ae]tw[=i]tan to reproach, blame; [ae]t at + w[=i]tan to reproach, blame; originally, to observe, see, hence, to observe what is wrong (cf. the meanings of E. animadvert; akin to G. verweisen to censure, OHG. firw[=i]zan, Goth. traweitan to avenge, L. videre to see. See Vision, Wit.] To vex by bringing to notice, or reminding of, a fault, defect, misfortune, or the like; to revile; to reproach; to upbraid; to taunt; as, he twitted his friend of falsehood.

This these scoffers twitted the Christian with. --Tillotson.

[AE]sop minds men of their errors, without twitting them for what is amiss. --L'Estrange.
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc.
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Language Translation for : twit
Spanish: imbécil, tonto, idiota,
German: der Idiot,
Japanese: ばか者
More Translations »

twit  (v.)
1530, aphetic form of atwite, from O.E. ætwitan "to blame, reproach," from æt "at" + witan "to blame," from P.Gmc. *witanan (cf. O.E. wite, O.S. witi, O.N. viti "punishment, torture;" O.H.G. wizzi "punishment," wizan "to punish;" Du. verwijten, O.H.G. firwizan, Ger. verweisen "to reproach, reprove," Goth. fraweitan "to avenge"), from PIE base *weid- "to see." For sense evolution, cf. L. animadvertere, lit. "to give heed to, observe," later "to chastise, censure, punish." The noun meaning "foolish, stupid and ineffectual person" is first attested 1934 in British slang, popular 1950s-60s, crossed over to U.S. with British sitcoms. It probably developed from the verb sense of "reproach" but may be influenced by nitwit.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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