twitcher
/ˈtwɪt͡ʃə/
Word Rarity
Very rare
Frequency: Zipf frequency 1.40 in modern English
16
Scrabble Score
8
Letters
2
Syllables
7
Unique Chars
Meaning
noun
Someone or something that twitches.
noun
An avid birdwatcher who travels long distances to see rare species, or to add a new species to their personal list; a birder who goes on twitches.
noun
A streamer on the video livestream service Twitch.
Example Sentences
- "It is difficult to classify them precisely, but, in roughly ascending order of productivity, we now recognise the purely chance observer, the locality regulars (now recognising that ‘time in’ eventually equals ‘rarity out’), the ringers (particularly when working in groups), the occasional tally-hunter (most of us, if we are honest), the full-time observatory workers (exhibiting the highest standards of discipline) and the growing group of full-blooded rarity collectors (self-styled ‘twitchers’, covering individually up to 30,000 miles in their annual pursuit of ‘lifers’)."
- "Twitchers are very mobile and may travel great distances to see rare birds, of which they hear through their efficient 'grapevine'."
- "I do not consider myself either a twitcher or an expert."
- "The Twitchers interact with their audiences in multiple ways in order to create communities."
- "Some messages warn against not being fooled, and that YouTubers or Twitchers should be somewhat absolved because “it’s their job” (C2), with the “dirty rotten system” (C2) to blame in which “EA decides who get what” (C2). […] Players post messages stressing the differences between themselves and streamers, with “regular folks are forced to earn … wins in fut champs” (C1; C3) while YouTubers or Twitchers “get given wins by their viewers” (C1; C3)."
- "Popular Twitchers (live streamers) build and cultivate devoted communities of fans where hundreds and even thousands log on to watch their broadcasts of whatever it is they want to share with the world."
Etymology
From twitch + -er. The birdwatching sense first recorded in 1970 and recalled as being in use in 1968; claimed by R.E. Emmett to have arisen in 1950s Britain in reference to birder Howard Medhurst who often arrived at rare‑bird sites shivering after riding pillion on Emmett's motorcycle.
Word Breakdown
Regional Pronunciation
- American English: /ˈtwɪt͡ʃə/
- British English: /ˈtwɪt͡ʃə/