twit
/twɪt/
Word Rarity
Rare
Frequency: Zipf frequency 2.74 in modern English
7
Scrabble Score
4
Letters
1
Syllables
3
Unique Chars
Meaning
verb
To blame or reproach (someone), especially in a good-natured or teasing manner; also, to ridicule or tease (someone).
Transitive verb
verb
To criticize or disapprove of (something), especially in a good-natured or teasing manner.
Archaic; Transitive verb
verb
Followed by it: to speak or write (something) in a taunting or teasing manner.
Obsolete; Transitive verb
verb
To blame or reproach, especially in a good-natured or teasing manner.
Intransitive verb; Transitive verb
noun
A jibe, reproach, or taunt, especially one made in a good-natured or teasing manner.
Example Sentences
- "No man for deſpite, / By worde or by write / His felowe to twite, […]"
- "[I]f vvee meane to tvvit a man that he is a foole, vve vvill ſay thou knovveſt not vvhat thou ſayeſt."
- "Hath he not tvvit our Soueraigne Lady here / VVith ignominious vvords, though Clarkely coucht? / As if ſhe had ſuborned ſome to ſvveare / Falſe allegations, to o'rethrovv his ſtate."
- "Well wanton, laugh not my ould age to ſcorne, / nor twit me ſo my ſenſes to haue loſte, / the time hath been when as my hopefull morne / promiſ'd as much as nowe thy youth can boaſte: […]"
- "This Hannah though ſilent vvhen tvvitted by Peninnah for barrenneſs, found her tongue vvhen here taxed by Eli of drunkenneſs: becauſe a meer ſufferer in the former, but in the latter a ſinner, had the accuſation been true."
- "Thou twittest me with my Grey Hairs, yet considerest not how I am of the Nature of Leeks, which with a white Head carry a green, fresh, streight, and vigorous Tail."
Etymology
PIE word *h₂éd The verb is an apheretic form of atwite (“(obsolete) to blame, reproach”), from Middle English atwiten (“to attribute (something) to someone; to blame (something) on someone; to accuse or charge (someone) with something; to speak ill of; to taunt”), from Old English ætwītan (“to blame, reproach; to censure, upbraid; to taunt”), from æt- (prefix meaning ‘at, near; toward’) + wītan (“to accuse; to blame, reproach”) (from Proto-Germanic *wītaną (“to punish; to torment; to know; to see”), from Proto-Indo-European *weyd- (“to see”)). Piecewise doublet of advise. The noun is probably derived from the verb, although it is attested in print earlier.
Origin
Word Breakdown
- Root: *weyd-, atwiten, ætwītan, *wītaną
Regional Pronunciation
- American English: /twɪt/
- British English: /twɪt/
Usage
- Transitive verb
- Archaic
- Obsolete
- Intransitive verb
- Informal
- British usage
- American usage
Inflected Forms
twits (present, singular)
twitting (participle, present)
twitted (participle, past)
twitted (past)
no-table-tags (table tags)
glossary (inflection template)
twitted (first person, past)
twittest (archaic, present)
twitted (past, second person)
twittedst (archaic, past)
twitteth (archaic, present)
twitted (past, singular)