▪ I. twig, n.1
(twɪg)
Forms: 1–2, 4–7 twigge (1 tuigge, tuicg-), 4–6 twygge (4 pl. tuygges, tuyegges); 2, 4 twige, 4 tvige, 6 twike; 4–5 tuyg, 4–6 twyg, 6–7 twygg, 5– twig (6 Sc. tuig, 7 twigg).
[Northern OE. twigge fem. (pl. twiggo), obscurely related to OE. twiᵹ neut. (pl. twiᵹu), later also tw{iacu}. Neither twigge nor twiᵹ correspond exactly to the usual Continental forms having the same sense, viz. WFris. twiich, twige (NFris. twich), Du. twijg (Kilian twijgh), MLG. twîch (LG. twîg), OHG. zwîg (MHG. zwîg-, zwîc, G. zweig), but the Da. dial. forms tveg, tvege, may be more closely akin to twigge or to the ME. variant twige. All the types appear to be variant formations from the stem twi-.]
1. a. A slender shoot issuing from a branch or stem.
| c 950 Lindisf. Gosp. Mk. xi. 8 Oðero..ða twiggo vel ða telᵹo..rendon of ðæm trewum. Ibid. xiii. 28 Mið-ðy..telᵹe vel twigge his..nesc bið. c 1175 Lamb. Hom. 5 Heo stiȝen uppe on þe godes cunnes treowe & nomen þa twigga & þa blostme. Ibid. 149 Hwenne he..for his sunne swingeð him mið smele twige. 13.. Guy Warw. (A.) 2542 Wiþ þat come Gij.., a smal tvige in his hond bereinde Of oliue. 1340 [see b]. c 1384 Chaucer H. Fame iii. 846 Al thys hous..Was made of twigges [v.rr. twygges, twigys] falwe, rede, And grene eke. 1398 Trevisa Barth. De P.R. xvii. i. (Bodl. MS.) A tre haþ..outeward..þerinde twigges leues blossomes and fruyte. 1415 Hoccleve To Sir J. Oldcastle 471 A smal twig or rod. 1509 Barclay Shyp of Folys (1570) 13 A little twigge plyaunt is by kinde, A bigger branche is harde to bowe or winde. a 1552 Leland Itin. (1711) V. 75 Hole Trees..without Twike or Bow. 1596 Dalrymple tr. Leslie's Hist. Scot. (S.T.S.) I. 39 Capercalȝe..lyues of only the tuigs or tendir branches of this [fir] trie. 1637 J. Taylor (Water P.) Drinke & Welcome D j b, My Muse doth..like a Squirrell skip, from twigge to twigge. 1732 Pope Ep. Cobham 150 Just as the Twig is bent, the Tree's inclin'd. 1784 Cowper Task i. 484 These..love life, and cling to it, as he That overhangs a torrent, to a twig. 1851 Carpenter Man. Phys. (ed. 2) 107 Fibrine..may be obtained..by whipping fresh blood with a bundle of twigs. 1906 Times, Lit. Supp. 23 Mar. 99/2 The snap of a twig..gave the alarm. |
b. transf. and
fig., and in
fig. context.
to hop the twig (slang): see
hop v. 6 a.
| c 950 Lindisf. Gosp. John xv. 5 Ic am þe wintreo, ᵹie ða tuiggo [L. palmites] sint. 1340 Ayenb. 22 Þe uerþe tuyg of þe ilke boȝe [of pride]..is yelpingge. Ibid. 41 Þe zixte boȝ of auarice is symonye..And þes boȝ heþ manie tuygges. c 1386 Chaucer Pars. T. ¶315 Euerich of thise chief synnes hath hise braunches and hise twigges. 1535 Coverdale Isa. ix. 14 The Lorde shal rote out of Israel both heade and tale, braunch and twygge in one daye. 1553 Respublica i. iii. 339 Adul. Doe but whistle for me, and I comme foorth with-all. Avar... I love suche a towarde twygg. a 1623 Fletcher Love's Cure ii. ii, Traiterous brat,..impious twig Of that old stock, dew'd with my kinsman's gore. 1678 in Trial E. Coleman 100 They would not you should have any Twigg to hold by to deceive you. 1764 Ld. Halifax Let. 11 Mar., in 10th Rep. Hist. MSS. Comm. App. i. 363, I was willing to keep Hold of any Twig of Hope that was left me. 1827 G. Higgins Celtic Druids 24 [The Irish] characters were called twigs and branch-letters.. from their shape. |
† c. collect. as the material for basket-making.
Obs. rare.
| c 1440 Pallad. on Husb. iii. 209 Let make a skeppe of twygge. 1661 Rec. Basketmakers Co. (1911) 114 Paid an officer for seizing 10,000 of twigg at Bull Wharfe. 00. 05. 00. |
2. spec. a. Short for
lime-twig (
obs.); also, in
pl., the twigs forming a birch-rod.
| 1601 Shakes. All's Well iii. vi. 115, I must go looke my twigges, He shall be caught. [1603 ― Meas. for M. i. iii. 24 Fond Fathers, Hauing bound vp the threatning twigs of birch, Onely to sticke it in their childrens sight, For terror, not to vse.] 1622 Bp. Hall Contempl., O.T. xvii. iii, Wise Salomon..laies insensible twigs for so foule an offender. 1736 Gentl. Mag. Nov. 679/2 Ye awful twigs!.. Long may ye..far from my posteriors keep your sway! 1896 M. Pemberton Purit. Wife iii, I had smarted often at the switch of his twigs. |
b. dial. (
a) A stout stick. (
b) A divining-rod (
cf. rod n.1 3 c).
to work the twig, to use the divining-rod.
| 1842 B. Brierley Lanc. Tales & Sk. 87 [He] could not see that his ‘twig’ would stand any chance against a bayonet. 18.. in T. Allan Tyneside Songs (1872) 201 Aw danced a jig an' swung my twig. 1883 Folk-Lore Jrnl. I. 28 At one spot the ‘twig’ was so violently affected that it flew out of his hands. 1883 A. Lang Custom & Myth (1884) 180 ‘To work the twig’ is rural English for the craft of Dousterswivel in the Antiquary. 1894 [see dowse v.]. |
3. transf. Anat. A small ramification of a blood-vessel or nerve.
| 1683 A. Snape Anat. Horse i. ix. (1686) 18 The Stomachal Arteries are twigs from the Coeliacal branch of the Arteria magna. Ibid. xvi. 33 A Twig of the Splenic Artery opens into this Vein. 1691 Ray Creation ii. (1692) 14 Particular Branches send forth some twigs to the neighbouring Muscles. 1741 Monro Anat. Nerves (ed. 3) 80 A Twig of the Ophthalmick Branch of the fifth Pair of Nerves. 1831 R. Knox Cloquet's Anat. 684 This artery gives numerous twigs to the pectoralis major. 1875 Huxley in Encycl. Brit. I. 766/1 The pulmonary artery gives twigs to the stomach. |
4. Pottery. ‘A thin strip of plastic clay used in modelling a pottery vessel, especially in the imitation basketwork common in Leeds pottery’ (
Cent. Dict. 1891).
5. attrib. and
Comb. a. attrib. (usually
= ‘made of twigs’), as
twig-basket,
twig-broom,
twig charcoal,
twig corf,
twig-cutter,
† twig head, (?
head n.1 5),
twig-hurdle,
twig ware.
b. instrumental, similative, etc., as
twig-formed,
twig-green,
twig-like,
twig-limed,
twig-strewn,
twig-suspended,
twig-wrought,
adjs. c. Spec. Comb.:
twig-ait: see
quot.;
twig-beetle,
-borer (
U.S.), names for various small beetles which bore into the twigs of trees (
Cent. Dict. & Suppl. 1891–1909);
twig-blight (
U.S.), a disease of the apple and quince, caused by
Micrococcus amylovorus: see
pear-blight a,
pear n. 5 (
Cent. Dict. 1889);
† twig-bottle, a bottle with a wicker envelope;
twig-bug (
U.S.)
= twig insect;
twig-climber: see
quot.;
twig-gall, an abnormal enlargement of a twig, due to the action of insects, fungi, or bacteria;
twig girdler (
U.S.), an American beetle,
Oncideres cingulatus, which deposits its eggs in the tips of twigs, which it then girdles below the eggs (
Cent. Dict. 1891);
twig insect, the stick-insect or ‘walking-stick’;
twig-pruner (
U.S.)
= oak pruner s.v. oak 9;
twig-rune, a runic inscription with characters of twig-like form;
twig-rush, a tall marsh-plant,
Cladium Mariscus, N.O.
Cyperaceæ, having very long narrow rigid leaves.
| 1867 Smyth Sailor's Word-bk., *Twig-ait, a river island where osiers grow. |
| 1748 tr. Vegetius' Distemp. Horses 173 A close-wrought *Twig-basket must be put upon him. |
| 1695 Lond. Gaz. No. 3085/3 Captain Bonnamy..took a French Ship of 40 Tuns, laden with Burstones and *Twig Bottles. |
| 1863 Hawthorne Our Old Home (1879) 187 *Twig-brooms, beehives,..things that are commonly sold at a rural fair. |
| 1895 Westm. Gaz. 31 Aug. 3/2 These latter doors are over a foot in thickness, each bearing a lining of twelve inches of ‘*twig charcoal’. |
| 1900 B. D. Jackson Gloss. Bot. Terms, *Twig Climbers, Schenck's term for certain Brazilian lianes, the young leafy lateral branches being sensitive..in contact with their supports. |
| 1797 J. Curr Coal Viewer 8 The basket or *twig corf..cannot..be introduced in the southern parts. |
| 1911 Contemp. Rev., Lit. Suppl. June 9 The chisel, the gouge..the sickle, the *twig-cutter, the scythe. |
| 1806 J. Grahame Birds Scot., etc. 75 The Raven's *twig-formed house. |
| 1900 B. D. Jackson Gloss. Bot. Terms, *Twig-Gall, a morbid growth ascribed to the action of bacteria. |
| 1874 Rep. U.S. Dept. Agric. 1873 153 The *twig girdler, Oncideres cingulatus... The insects girdle the twig before depositing their eggs. 1972 Swan & Papp Common Insects N. Amer. xx. 452 The Twig Girdler..is rough-surfaced, grayish brown or yellowish brown. 1974 Ridge Citizen (Johnston, S. Carolina) 18 Apr. 6/3 The twig girdlers deposit their eggs in the portions of the branches that fall to the ground. |
| 1892 Daily News 17 Dec. 5/7 The material is *twig-green velvet shot with gold. |
| 1572 in Feuillerat Revels Q. Eliz. (1908) 156 Strigges of bay Leaves for *twigg heades. |
| 1726 S. Lowe Lat. Gram. Suppl. 15 Gerrae, *twig-hurdles, gabions. |
| 1882 A. Wilson in Nature Stud. 37 The so-called ‘stick insects’, or ‘walking twigs’,..the Phasmidæ of the naturalist... The bodies of these ‘*twig insects’..are represented by mere lines. |
| 1898 Pop. Sc. Monthly LIII. 762 Curious plants with *twiglike leaves seem..provided against too great loss by transpiration. 1905 Westm. Gaz. 23 June 4/1 The twig-like attitudes assumed by some caterpillars and other insects. |
| 1657 N. Billingsley Brachy-Martyrol. xvi. 55 A third Is taken captive like a *twiglim'd bird. |
| 1928 Metcalf & Flint Destructive & Useful Insects xix. 664 Maple and oak *twig pruner. 1972 Swan & Papp Common Insects N. Amer. xx. 446 Twig Pruner..Brown, clothed with irregular patches of grayish yellow pubescence. |
| 1868 G. Stephens Runic Mon. I. 84 *Twig-runes occur on both Old-Northern and Scandinavian..runic monuments. |
| 1836 J. T. Mackay Flora Hibern. i. 324 Cladium Mariscus, Br. Prickly *Twig-rush. 1848 C. A. Johns Week at Lizard 311 Cladium Mariscus, Twig-rush, abounds in the higher parts of the stream. |
| 1900 Blackw. Mag. Mar. 392/1 Bare and *twig-strewn circles in which the argus-pheasants strut. |
| 1826 Kirby & Sp. Entomol. III. xxix. 96 The eggs of the tailor bird in its *twig-suspended nest. |
| 1829 S. Shaw Stafford. Potteries vii. 173 A Lady's work-basket, which he was led to consider..as *twig or willow ware, and was..surprised, to find it of cane coloured pottery. |
| 1855 Singleton Virgil I. 80 Celeus' furniture, *twig-wrought And mean. |
Hence
ˈtwigless a., destitute of twigs;
ˈtwiglet, (
a) a little twig; (
b) (with capital initial) the proprietary name of a crisp, savoury snack in the shape of a twig;
twigling = twiglet (a);
ˈtwigsome a., twiggy.
| 1839 Fraser's Mag. XX. 345 A birch-tree, entirely boughless, branchless, and twigless. 1849 J. A. Carlyle tr. Dante's Inferno 146 If thou breakest off any twiglet from one of these plants. 1860 Dickens in All Year Round No. 50. 558 The twigsome trees by the wayside (which, I suppose, never will grow leafy, for they never did). 1882 Garden 18 Mar. 181/2 Slender twiglets of this semi-weeping Spruce. 1907 Westm. Gaz 19 Oct. 6/1 As pliant twigling to the rigid oak. 1932 Trade Marks Jrnl. 15 June 766 Twiglets... Biscuits. Peek, Frean & Company, Limited,..London, S.E. 16; manufacturers. 1962 M. Frayn Day of Dog 57 A cheese twiglet slips from my fingers. 1980 J. Melville Chrysanthemum Chain 103 Walker set out a..drinks tray..and opened a tin of imported Twiglets. |
▪ II. twig, n.2 Now
dial. [f. twig v.3 2.] A pull; a twitch; a tug; a draught.
| a 1800 Laird of Wariston vi. in Child Ballads vii. (1890) 31/2 The nurice she knet the knot,..The lady did gie it a twig, Till it began to wicker. 1808 Jamieson, Twig, a quick pull, a twitch. 1818 Naval Chron. XXXIX. 65 He was taken in tow by A Friend,..which twig to windward..will..enable him to round the Cape. 1825 J. Neal Bro. Jonathan I. 54 A ‘twig o' cider’ a piece. |
▪ III. twig, n.3 slang. ?
Obs. [Origin unascertained.] Style, fashion; also condition, state, fettle;
esp. in the phrases
in (prime, good) twig.
b. out of twig [
cf. twig v.
4], out of knowledge or recognition: see
quot. 1812.
| 1811 Lexicon Balatr. s.v., In twig, handsome; stilish. The cove is togged in twig; the fellow is dressed in the fashion. 1812 J. H. Vaux Flash Dict. s.v., Any thing accomplished cleverly, or as it should be, is said to be done in twig, in good twig, or in prime twig. Ibid., Out of twig, to put yourself out of twig is to disguise your dress and appearance, to avoid being recognised..; a man reduced by poverty to wear a shabby dress is said by his acquaintance to be out of twig; to put any article out of twig, as a stolen coat, cloak, &c. is to alter it in such a way that it cannot be identified. 1828 Sporting Mag. XXII. 77 Palemon was not in the twig I should like to see a horse of mine if about to start for such a stake. 1834 H. Ainsworth Rookwood iii. v, With my strummel faked in the newest twig. 1840 Dickens Barn. Rudge xi, You're in twig to-night I see. 1842 S. Lover Handy Andy xvii, Going to the ball in proper twig. |
▪ IV. twig, v.1 Obs. or
dial. [f. twig n.1] 1. trans. To beat with or as with a twig;
fig. to reprove. ?
Obs.| 1550 Bale Apol. 142 Not one kynge hath bene in Englande sens the conquest, but they haue twygged hym one way or other, and had theyr false flynges at him. 1553 Respublica v. viii. 1630 Insol. I will whippe youe for this, ye peasaunte lowte. Adul. And twygge youe. 1570 Levins Manip. 119/4 To Twig, verberare. a 1825 Forby Voc. E. Anglia, Twig, to give such..correction as may be inflicted with a twig... To give somewhat sharp, but not angry and severe reproof. 1826 Moore Mem. (1854) V. 118 Only for my knowing Lord Holland (said Southey) I would have twigged him for that. |
† 2. To trim, prune (a tree).
Obs. rare.
| 1570 Levins Manip. 119/5 To Twygge, putare viburna. |
† 3. To bind with twigs or withes.
Obs. rare.
| 1688 R. Holme Armoury iii. 108/1 Twigging a Hoop [of a barrel], is binding the two ends together with cloven Twiggs of Withy, or Osier Twiggs. |
Hence
ˈtwigging vbl. n.1| 1916 Joyce Portrait of Artist iv. 174 To flee from noise which caused him painful nervous irritation such as the sharpening of knives..and the twigging of the carpet. |
▪ V. twig, v.2 Obs. or
dial. [Of obscure origin: cf. next.] intr. To do anything vigorously or strenuously. Hence
ˈtwigging vbl. n.2 and ppl. a.1| 1573 Twyne æneid xi. I i iv b, Lyke a fawcon that..at a twygginge doue vnto the cloudes swyft winge doth make. Ibid. xii. L l iij, The bird of mightie Ioue..a shole of foules she did pursue And twigginge forth apace fast on her flight the Egle flue. 1573 Tusser Husb. (1878) 81 The lamb of such twinners for breeders go take, For twinlings be twiggers, encrease for to bring, Though som for their twigging Peccantem may sing. 1828 Craven Gloss., Twig,..to do any thing strenuously, to work with might and main. |
▪ VI. twig, v.3 Now
dial. [Of obscure origin; perh. merely an imitative word of the same type as twick, tweag tweak, and tug.] † 1. trans. See
quot. Obs. slang.| 1725 New Cant. Dict., To Twig, to disingage, to sunder, to snap, to break off. To twig the Darbies, to knock off the Irons. |
2. To pull, pluck, twitch.
| 1755 J. Shebbeare Lydia (1769) II. 49 Write,..or Frank shall twig your nose from your face. 1790 D. Morison Poems 78 Let rantin billys twig the string, An' for the tither mutchkin ring. 1864 Reader 23 Jan. 105 To stretch strings on pegs and to twig them with thumb or with plectrum was one of the earliest of human amusements. 1867 Smyth Sailor's Work-bk., Twig, to, to pull upon a bowline. |
Hence
ˈtwigging ppl. a.2| 1864 Reader 23 Jan. 105 The genus stringed-instrument consists of three species, which may be defined, to use the vernacular, as the twigging, the hammering, and the scraping. |
▪ VII. twig, v.4 slang or
colloq. [Origin unascertained.] 1. trans. a. To watch; to look at; to inspect.
| 1764 Foote Mayor of G. ii. Wks. 1799 I. 180 Now, twig him; now, mind him: mark how he hawls his muscles about. 1824 Scott St. Ronan's iv, ‘Twig the old connoisseur’, said the squire to the knight. 1837 Dickens Pickw. xx, ‘They're a twiggin' of you, sir’, whispered Mr. Weller. 1841 J. T. J. Hewlett Parish Clerk I. 173 Oblige me by twigging that trio. 1876 A. J. Evans Through Bosnia iii. 89 A motley assemblage..‘twigged us’ at their leisure. |
b. To become aware of by seeing; to perceive, discern, catch sight of; to recognize.
| 1796 J. G. Holman Abroad & at Home iii. ii, He twigs me. He knows Dicky here in his real and masquerade character both. 1801 M. G. Lewis Tales Wonder, Sailor's T. ii, With strange surprise and fear, Jack Tackle's ghost I twigg'd. 1825 Lady Granville Lett. 30 Jan. (1894) I. 339 They have twigged me. 1860 Hunting Grounds Old World Ser. i. xii. (ed. 2) 189 The leader, whom at last I twigged lying down and chewing the cud. 1879 F. T. Pollok Sport Brit. Burmah I. 191, I twigged the tigress creeping away in front of us. |
2. fig. To understand, comprehend.
| 1815 Zeluca III. 144 You twig me—eh? 1821 Lady Granville Lett. (1894) I. 208 York roared again [at the jokes], Clarence was dull and did not twig them. 1852 R. S. Surtees Sponge's Sp. Tour xxvii. 166, I twigged what you were after, and kept him up in talk. 1897 ‘Tivoli’ (H. W. Bleakley) Short Innings ix, Make a howler or two, or else he'll twig you've cribbed. |
b. intr.| 1833 M. Scott Tom Cringle xiii. (1859) 311 The Captain twigged and smiled. 1845 Disraeli Sybil iii. x, ‘I twig’, said Mick. 1893 Leland Mem. I. 197, I twig; it's all right; I'll keep your secret. |