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Twinge
Definitions
- 1 A sudden, pinching or sharp pain in a specific part of the body, especially one lasting for a short time.
"I got a twinge in my arm."
- 2 a sharp stab of pain wordnet
- 3 A turn, a twist. also, figuratively, rare
""Easy!" exclaimed Arthur, a half-contemptuous twinge in his lip, and added: "I take it that the simple question with me is, what is right, and what is best.""
- 4 a sudden sharp feeling wordnet
- 5 A sudden, sharp feeling of an emotional or mental nature, as of guilt or sadness; a pang, a paroxysm, a throe; also, a prick of the conscience. figuratively
"a twinge of embarrassment"
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- 6 A sudden, sharp occurrence of something; a nip. figuratively
- 7 Synonym of earwig (“insect of the order Dermaptera”). UK, dialectal
- 8 An act of pulling and twisting; a pinch, a tweak, a twitch. obsolete
"[T]he ſpirite of Jeſus hath (as it were) nipped my herte alſo with a litell twynge, […]"
- 1 To have a sudden, pinching or sharp pain in a specific part of the body, like a twitch. intransitive
"My side twinges if I sit too long."
- 2 squeeze tightly between the fingers wordnet
- 3 To pull and twist. dialectal, intransitive
"That ring-dove, who was cooing half-a-mile away, has hushed his moan; that flock of long-tailed titmice, which were twinging and pecking about the fir-cones a few minutes since, are gone; and now there is not even a gnat to quiver in the slant sun-rays."
- 4 feel a sudden sharp, local pain wordnet
- 5 To pull and twist (someone or something); to pinch, to tweak, to twitch, to wring. dialectal, obsolete, transitive
"I tell thee, I do vſe to teare their hair, to kick them, and to tvvindge their noſes, if they be not carefull in auoiding me."
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- 6 cause a stinging pain wordnet
- 7 To affect or torment (someone, their mind, or part of their body) with one or more sudden, pinching or sharp pains; to irritate. obsolete, transitive
"For the Chiefeſt cauſe of pain in VVounds of the nerves is the excrementitious matter ſhut up; vvhich being overlong detayned getteth to it ſelf a depraved quality, pulleth and tvvingeth the Nerves, and at length putrifieth."
- 8 To prick or stimulate (one's conscience). figuratively, obsolete, transitive
"[N]othing did tvvinge my Conſcience like this: Every time that I thought of the Lord Jeſus, of his Grace, Love, Goodneſs, Kindneſs, Gentleneſs, Meekneſs, Death, Blood, Promiſes and bleſſed Exhortations, Comforts and Conſolations, it vvent to my Soul like a Svvord; […]"
Etymology
The verb is derived from Middle English twengen (“to nip, pinch, tweak; to tear at”), from Old English twenġan (“to pinch, squeeze”), from Proto-West Germanic *twangijan (“to pinch, squeeze”), from Proto-Germanic *twangijaną (“to pinch, squeeze”), the causative form of *twinganą (“to press, squeeze”); further etymology uncertain, possibly related to *þwangiz (“belt, strap, thong; pressure, restraint”) or *þwinganą, *þwinhaną (“to constrain; to force”) (whence German zwingen), both ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *twenk- (“to press, pressure, squeeze”). However, the Oxford English Dictionary says there is no evidence for such a relationship. The noun is derived from the verb.
The verb is derived from Middle English twengen (“to nip, pinch, tweak; to tear at”), from Old English twenġan (“to pinch, squeeze”), from Proto-West Germanic *twangijan (“to pinch, squeeze”), from Proto-Germanic *twangijaną (“to pinch, squeeze”), the causative form of *twinganą (“to press, squeeze”); further etymology uncertain, possibly related to *þwangiz (“belt, strap, thong; pressure, restraint”) or *þwinganą, *þwinhaną (“to constrain; to force”) (whence German zwingen), both ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *twenk- (“to press, pressure, squeeze”). However, the Oxford English Dictionary says there is no evidence for such a relationship. The noun is derived from the verb.
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