| 释义 |
twit
I. \ˈtwit, usu -id.+V\ transitive verb
(twitted ; twitted ; twitting ; twits)
Etymology: alteration of earlier twite, short for atwite, from Middle English atwiten, from Old English ætwītan from æt at + wītan to guard, look after, reproach, blame; akin to Old High German wīzan to punish, reproach, Old Norse vīta to punish, blame, Gothic fraweitan to avenge, witan to observe — more at at, wit
1. : to subject to ridicule or reproach : taunt
< nearly every day finds him … twitting reporters on their personal and professional weaknesses — New Republic >
< some seamen were twitting him about dressing so formally — Joseph Whitehill >
2. : to impute or make game of as a fault
< twitted his laziness >
Synonyms: see ridicule
II. noun
(-s)
1. : an act of twitting : taunt
2. Britain : a silly peevish person : fool
< making a silly twit of yourself — Noel Coward >
3. : a nervous or jumpy state : jitters
< what a twit she had been in — Martha Gellhorn >
< giving everybody the twits — Richard Llewellyn >
III. noun
(-s)
Etymology: imitative
: twitter, chirp
IV. noun
(-s)
Etymology: origin unknown
: a defect in yarn or roving; usually : a thin and weak place caused by too much twist |