twist

== English == === Etymology === From Middle English twist, from Old English *twist, in compounds (e.g. mæsttwist (“a rope; stay”), candeltwist (“a wick”)), from Proto-Germanic *twistaz, a derivative of *twi- (“two-”) (compare also twine, between, betwixt). Related to Saterland Frisian Twist (“discord”), Dutch twist (“twist; strife; discord”), German Low German Twist (“strife; discord”), German Zwist (“turmoil; strife; discord”), Swedish tvist (“quarrel; dispute”), Icelandic tvistur (“deuce”). The verb is from Middle English twisten. Compare Dutch twisten, Danish tviste (“to dispute”), Swedish tvista (“to argue; dispute”). === Pronunciation === enPR: twĭst, IPA(key): /twɪst/, [tw̥ɪst] Rhymes: -ɪst === Noun === twist (countable and uncountable, plural twists) A twisting force. Anything twisted, or the act of twisting. The form given in twisting. The degree of stress or strain when twisted. A type of thread made from two filaments twisted together. 1808–1810, William Hickey, Memoirs of a Georgian Rake, Folio Society 1995, page 140: I was one morning walking arm in arm with him in St James's Park, his dress then being […] waistcoat and breeches of the same blue satin, trimmed with silver twist à la hussarde, and ermine edges. A sliver of lemon peel added to a cocktail, etc. A sudden bend (or short series of bends) in a road, path, etc. A distortion to the meaning of a passage or word. An unexpected turn in a story, tale, etc. I'm all agog at the new twist to the royal scandal. 2007 September 7, Graham Linehan, The IT Crowd, Season 2, Episode 3: Roy: Oh no, now I know there's a twist. I'm gonna spend the whole film guessing what it is. Damn you, Dominator! Moss: Just try and forget that there's a twist. Roy: Oh, how can you forget there's a twist?... Douglas: Oh, I've heard of this flick. There's a twist in it, isn't there?... I bet he's a woman, that bloke. No, you think it's the future, but it's actually set in the past. It's not Earth. It's all a dream!... They're all clones. He's his own brother. Everyone's a ghost. (preceded by definite article) A modern dance popular in Western culture in the late 1950s and 1960s, based on rotating the hips repeatedly from side to side. See Twist (dance) on Wikipedia for more details. A rotation of the body when diving. A sprain, especially to the ankle. (obsolete) A twig. (slang) A girl, a woman. 1990, Miller's Crossing, 01:08:20 (Dane, speaking about a woman character) "I'll see where the twist flops" A roll or baton of baked dough or pastry in a twisted shape. (countable, uncountable) A small roll of tobacco. A material for gun barrels, consisting of iron and steel twisted and welded together. The spiral course of the rifling of a gun barrel or a cannon. (obsolete, slang) A beverage made of brandy and gin. A strong individual tendency or bent; inclination. (slang, archaic) An appetite for food. Ellipsis of hair twist. ==== Descendants ==== → German: Twist → Hebrew: טוויסט → Russian: твист (tvist) ==== Translations ==== === Verb === twist (third-person singular simple present twists, present participle twisting, simple past and past participle twisted) To turn the ends of something, usually thread, rope etc., in opposite directions, often using force. Synonyms: torque, convolute To join together by twining one part around another. Synonyms: braid, intertwist, lace; see also Thesaurus:intertwine To contort; to writhe; to complicate; to crook spirally; to convolve. June 8, 1714, Alexander Pope, letter to Jonathan Swift twisting it into a serpentine form. To wreathe; to wind; to encircle; to unite by intertexture of parts. (reflexive) To wind into; to insinuate. To turn a knob etc. To distort or change the truth or meaning of words when repeating. To form a twist (in any of the above noun meanings). To injure (a body part) by bending it in the wrong direction. (intransitive, of a path) To wind; to follow a bendy or wavy course; to have many bends. (transitive) To cause to rotate. (intransitive) To dance the twist (a type of dance characterised by twisting one's hips). (transitive) To coax. Synonyms: cajole, inveigle, wheedle; see also Thesaurus:coax (card games) In the game of blackjack (pontoon or twenty-one), to be dealt another card. Antonyms: stay, stick ==== Translations ==== === Derived terms === === Anagrams === twits, witts == Czech == === Etymology === Borrowed from English twist. === Noun === twist m inan twist (dance) ==== Declension ==== === Further reading === “twist”, in Kartotéka Novočeského lexikálního archivu (in Czech) “twist”, in Slovník spisovného jazyka českého (in Czech), 1960–1971, 1989 == Dutch == === Pronunciation === IPA(key): /tʋɪst/ Rhymes: -ɪst === Etymology 1 === From Proto-Germanic *twistaz (“strife, quarrel”). Cognate with Saterland Frisian Twist (“discord”), German Low German Twist (“strife; discord”), German Zwist (“turmoil; strife; discord”), Swedish tvist (“quarrel; dispute”), Icelandic tvistur (“deuce”), and English twist. ==== Noun ==== twist m (uncountable, diminutive twistje n) strife, discord dispute ===== Derived terms ===== redetwisten twistappel === Etymology 2 === From English twist. ==== Noun ==== twist m (uncountable, diminutive twistje n) twist: dance, turn === Anagrams === witst == Finnish == === Etymology === From English twist. === Pronunciation === IPA(key): /ˈtwist/, [ˈt̪wis̠t] IPA(key): /ˈtʋist/, [ˈt̪ʋis̠t] Rhymes: -ist Syllabification(key): twist Hyphenation(key): twist === Noun === twist twist (dance) ==== Declension ==== ==== Derived terms ==== === Further reading === “twist”, in Kielitoimiston sanakirja [Dictionary of Contemporary Finnish]‎[1] (in Finnish) (online dictionary, continuously updated), Kotimaisten kielten keskuksen verkkojulkaisuja 35, Helsinki: Kotimaisten kielten tutkimuskeskus (Institute for the Languages of Finland), 2004–, retrieved 3 July 2023 == French == === Etymology === Borrowed from English twist. === Pronunciation === IPA(key): /twist/ === Noun === twist m (plural twists) twist (dance) ==== Derived terms ==== twister === Further reading === “twist”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012 == Middle English == === Alternative forms === twest, tweste, twiste, twyst, twyste === Etymology === From Old English *twist (attested in compounds), from Proto-West Germanic *twist, from Proto-Germanic *twistaz. === Pronunciation === IPA(key): /twist/ === Noun === twist (plural twistes) The flat part of a hinge (less specifically the entire hinge) A twig or branch. A groin (juncture between the chest and thighs) ==== Derived terms ==== twisten ==== Descendants ==== English: twist Scots: twist === References === “twist, n.”, in MED Online, Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan, 2007. == Polish == === Etymology === Unadapted borrowing from English twist. === Pronunciation === IPA(key): /ˈtwist/ Rhymes: -ist Syllabification: twist === Noun === twist m animal twist (type of dance) (music) twist (music to this dance) twist (beverage made of brandy and gin) jar with a threaded neck and a screw cap allowing airtight sealing screw cap for this type of jar ==== Declension ==== ==== Derived terms ==== === Further reading === twist in Polish dictionaries at PWN == Portuguese == === Etymology === Unadapted borrowing from English twist. === Pronunciation === === Noun === twist m (uncountable) twist (type of dance) === Further reading === “twist”, in Dicionário Aulete Digital (in Portuguese), Rio de Janeiro: Lexikon Editora Digital, 2008–2026 == Romanian == === Etymology === Unadapted borrowing from English twist or French twist. === Noun === twist n (plural twisturi) twist (dance) ==== Declension ==== == Spanish == === Etymology === Unadapted borrowing from English twist. === Pronunciation === IPA(key): /ˈtwist/ [ˈt̪wist̪] Rhymes: -ist === Noun === twist m (plural twist) twist (clarification of this definition is needed.) ==== Usage notes ==== According to Royal Spanish Academy (RAE) prescriptions, unadapted foreign words should be written in italics in a text printed in roman type, and vice versa, and in quotation marks in a manuscript text or when italics are not available. In practice, this RAE prescription is not always followed. === Further reading === “twist”, in Diccionario de la lengua española [Dictionary of the Spanish Language] (in Spanish), online version 23.8.1, Royal Spanish Academy [Spanish: Real Academia Española], 15 December 2025