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Added 8 October 2026

twist

/twɪst/ noun

In Latin: torqueō Wiktionary

noun Definition from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA). Pronunciation from Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org. More about twist at Wordnik → Where our words come from →

A twisting force.
Anything twisted, or the act of twisting.
The form given in twisting.

verb

To turn the ends of something, usually thread, rope etc., in opposite directions, often using force.
To join together by twining one part around another.
To contort; to writhe; to complicate; to crook spirally; to convolve.

Origin

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”).

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

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