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Added 9 October 2026

twig

/twɪɡ/ noun

In Latin: rāmulus, virga Wiktionary

noun Definition from WordNet 3.1, Princeton University. Pronunciation from Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org. More about twig at Wordnik → Where our words come from →

A small branch or division of a branch (especially a terminal division); usually applied to branches of the current or preceding year.

verb

Branch out in a twiglike manner.
The lightning bolt twigged in several directions
Understand, usually after some initial difficulty.
She didn't know what her classmates were plotting but finally caught on

Origin

PIE word *dwóh₁ Etymology tree Proto-Germanic *twīgą Proto-West Germanic *twīg Old English twiġ Middle English twig English twig From Middle English twig, twyg, twigge, twygge, from Old English twigg, twicg, from Proto-West Germanic *twiggu (“small twig, shoot”), apparently a diminutive of Proto-West Germanic *twig (“branch, twig”) (whence also Old English twiġ and twiġa), from Proto-Germanic *twīgą, from Proto-Indo-European *dwigʰom, from *dwóh₁. More at two.

From Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org (CC BY-SA)

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