Twist | Webster's Dictionary (1865)

Twĭst, v. t.

verbtransitive

v. t. [imp. & p. p. TWISTED; p. pr. & vb. n. TWISTING.] [A-S. twist, two, cloth of double thread, from twi, two; Icel. twistr, id., Prov. Ger. zwist, id.; L. Ger. & D. twist, Dan. & Sw. twist, H. Ger. zwist, discord, dissension; L. Ger. & D. twisten, Dan. twiste, Sw. twista, H. Ger. zwisten, to contend.] 1. To contort; to writhe; to complicate; to crook spirally; to convolve. Twist it into a serpentine form. Pope.

Hence, to turn from the true form or meaning; to pervert; as, to twist a passage cited from an author.
To wreathe; to wind; to encircle; to unite by intertexture of parts. “Pillars of smoke twisted about with wreaths of flame.” Burnet.

Longing to twist Bays with that ivy. Waller. 4. Hence, to form; to weave; to make up. Was it not to this end That thou began’st to twist so fine a story? Shak.

To wind in; to insinuate;—used reflexively; as, avarice twists itself into all human concerns.
To unite by winding one thread, strand, or other flexible substance round another; to form by convolution, or winding separate things round each other; as, to twist yarn or thread.
To form into a thread from many fine filaments; as, to twist wool or cotton.

Twĭst, v. i.

verbintransitive

v. i. To be contorted or united by winding round each other; to be or become twisted; as, some strands will twist more easily than others.

Twĭst, n.

noun

n. 1. A contortion; a flexure; a convolution; a bending.

Not the least turn or twist in the fibers of any one animal which does not render them more proper for that particular animal's way of life than any other cast or texture. Addison.

Sense 2. Form given in twisting; manner of twisting.

He found fault with the length, the thickness, and the twist. Arbuthnot.

Sense 3. Specifically, that which is formed by twisting, convoluting, or uniting the parts; as, (a.) A cord, thread, or any thing flexible, formed by winding strands or separate things round each other. (b.) A kind of closely twisted strong sewing-silk, used by tailors, saddlers, and the like. (c.) A kind of cotton yarn, of several varieties. Simmonds. (d.) A small roll of twisted dough, baked. (e.) A little roll of tobacco. (f.) (Weaving.) A warp of a certain reed which can be joined to another by twisting. (g.) A beverage made of brandy and gin mixed. [Colloq. and low.]

Sense 4. A twig. [Obs.] Fairfax.