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Twang

//twæŋ// noun, verb, slang

Definitions

Noun
  1. 1
    The sharp, quick sound of a vibrating tight string, for example, of a bow or a musical instrument.

    "Let me give you in rude recitation, with here and there a twang and a caper of the guitar-strings, my vision of the Cid's sally from his besieged castle of Alcocer—the first outburst of that Spanish deluge that never receded till it rose over the dead body of the last Moor."

  2. 2
    exaggerated nasality in speech (as in some regional dialects) wordnet
  3. 3
    A particular sharp vibrating sound characteristic of electric guitars.
  4. 4
    a sharp vibrating sound (as of a plucked string) wordnet
  5. 5
    A trace of a regional or foreign accent in someone's voice.

    "Despite having lived in Canada for 20 years, he still has that Eastern-European twang in his voice."

Show 3 more definitions
  1. 6
    The sound quality that appears in the human voice when the epilaryngeal tube is narrowed.

    "Near-synonym: nasality"

  2. 7
    A sharp, pungent taste or flavor; sometimes, a disagreeable one specifically.

    "spicy twang"

  3. 8
    An annoying or stupid person; especially, a recalcitrant. slang, vulgar
Verb
  1. 1
    To produce or cause to produce a sharp vibrating sound, like a tense string pulled and suddenly let go. ambitransitive
  2. 2
    pronounce with a nasal twang wordnet
  3. 3
    To have a nasal sound. intransitive
  4. 4
    pluck (strings of an instrument) wordnet
  5. 5
    To have a trace of a regional or foreign accent. intransitive
Show 4 more definitions
  1. 6
    twitch or throb with pain wordnet
  2. 7
    To play a stringed musical instrument by plucking and snapping.
  3. 8
    sound with a twang wordnet
  4. 9
    cause to sound with a twang wordnet

Etymology

Etymology 1

Onomatopoeic. Compare Middle English twengen (“to pinch, tweak”) (whence modern English twinge), from Old English twenġan (“to pinch, twinge”); Middle English twingen (“to afflict, torment, oppress”), from Old Norse þvinga (“to weigh down, oppress”); Old English twingan (“to force, press”).

Etymology 2

Onomatopoeic. Compare Middle English twengen (“to pinch, tweak”) (whence modern English twinge), from Old English twenġan (“to pinch, twinge”); Middle English twingen (“to afflict, torment, oppress”), from Old Norse þvinga (“to weigh down, oppress”); Old English twingan (“to force, press”).

See also for "twang"

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