Dictionary
An American Dictionary of the English Language
Revised and enlarged (Goodrich & Porter)
Springfield, Mass. · G. & C. Merriam · 1865
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Look up a word as the writers of the time used it.
Twāng'gle, v. i. p. 1428To twang. “While the twangling violin struck up.” Tennyson.Twāng, v. t. p. 1428To cause to make a sharp, twanging sound; to twang, or twangle. “Twanging headless arrows.” Tennyson.Twăng'kay or 'Twas, n. p. 1428The poorest kind of green tea. 'Twas. A contraction of it was.Twăt'tle, v. i. p. 1428To prate; to talk much and idly; to gabble; to chatter; to twaddle; as, a twattling gossip. L'Estrange.Twat'tle, v. t. p. 1428To make much of, as a domestic animal; to pet. [Prov. Eng.] Grose.Twăt'tle, n. p. 1428Act of prating; idle talk; twaddle.Twat'tler, n. p. 1428One who twattles; a twaddler.Twāy, a. & n. p. 1428Two; twain. [Obs.] See TWAIN.Twāy'-blāde, n. p. 1428(Bot.) An orchidaceous plant of the genus Listera (L. ovata), growing in England;—so called because it has two leaves. [Written also twy-blade.]Twēag, v. t. p. 1428To tweak. [Obs.]Twēag or Twēague, n. p. 1428A pinching condition; perplexity; predicament; trouble; distress. [Obs.] This put the old fellow in a rare tweague. Arbuthnot.Twēak, v. t. p. 1428To pinch and pull with a sudden jerk and twist; to twitch; as, to tweak the nose.Twēak, n. p. 1428A sharp pinch or jerk; as, a tweak of the nose. Swift. 2. Trouble; distress; tweag. 3. A prostitute. [Obs.] Webster, 1661.Tweed, n. p. 1428A light, twilled cotton or woolen stuff, used for summer clothing;—used also as an adjective. Simmonds.Tweē'dle, v. t. p. 1428To handle lightly; — said with reference to awkward fiddling; hence, to influence as if by fiddling; to coax; to allure. A fiddler brought in with him a body of lusty young fellows, whom he had…Tweel, n. & v. t. p. 1428The same as TWILL.Tweer, n. p. 1428The point of the blast-pipe in a smelting furnace. [Written also twier or tuyere.]Tweese or Tweeze, n. p. 1428A surgeon's box of instruments.Twee'zers, n. pl. p. 1428Small pincers used to pluck out hairs, and for other purposes.Twelfth, a. p. 1428The second after the tenth; next succeeding the eleventh;—the ordinal of twelve. 2. Constituting or being one of twelve equal parts into which any thing is divided.Twēlfth, n. p. 1428The quotient of a unit divided by twelve; one of twelve equal parts. 2. (Mus.) An interval comprising an octave and a fifth.Twelfth'-cāke, n. p. 1428An ornamented cake distributed among friends or visitors on the festival of Twelfth-night. Simmonds.Twĕlfth'-dāy, n. p. 1428See TWELFTH-TIDE.Twĕlfth'-night, n. p. 1428The evening of the twelfth-day after Christmas, or Epiphany, observed as a festival by the church of Rome and others.Twĕlfth'-tīde, n. p. 1428The twelfth day after Christmas; or Epiphany; — called also twelfth-day.Twĕlve, n. p. 1428One more than eleven; two and ten; twice six; a dozen. Twelve Tables. (Law.) See TABLE.Twĕlve, n. p. 1428The number next following eleven; the sum of ten and two, or of twice six. 2. A symbol representing twelve units, as 12, or xii.Twĕlve'mŏnth, n. p. 1428A year which consists of twelve calendar months. I shall laugh at this a twelvemonth hence. Shak.Twĕlve'-pence, n. p. 1428A shilling sterling, being about $0.24.Twĕlve'-pen-ny, a. p. 1428Sold for a shilling; worth a shilling.Twĕlve'scōre, a. & n. p. 1428Twelve times twenty; two hundred and forty.Twĕn’ti-eth, a. p. 1428Next in order after the nineteenth; tenth after the tenth; — the ordinal of twenty. 2. Constituting or being one of twenty equal parts into which any thing is divided.Twĕn'ti-eth, n. p. 1428The quotient of a unit divided by twenty; one of twenty equal parts. 2. (Mus.) An interval comprising two octaves and a sixth.Twĕn'ty, a. p. 1428One more than nineteen; twice ten; as, twenty men; twenty years. 2. An indefinite number; — used proverbially. Maximilian, upon twenty respects, could not have been the man. Bacon.Twĕn’ty, n. p. 1428The number next following nineteen; the sum of twelve and eight, or twice ten. 2. A symbol representing twenty units, as 20, or xx.Twēn'ty-fōld, a. p. 1428Twenty times as many.Twī’bil, n. p. 1428A kind of mattock, or ax; especially, an instrument formed like a pick-ax, but having, instead of the points, flat terminations, one of which is horizontal, the other perpendicular. [Prov. Eng.] 2.…Twi'billed, a. p. 1428Armed or provided with twibils.Twice, adv. p. 1428Two times; once and again. He twice essayed to cast his son in gold. Dryden. 2. Doubly; in twofold quantity; as, twice the sum; he is twice as fortunate as his neighbor. Twice is used in the…Twĭch, n. p. 1428See DOG-GRASS.Twĭd'dle, n. p. 1428A slight twist with the fingers. 2. A pimple. [Prov. Eng.] Halliwell.Twĭd'dle, v. t. p. 1428To touch lightly, or play with; to tweedle; to twirl with the fingers; as, to twiddle a watch-key. [Written also twidle.] Thackeray.Twĭd'dle, v. i. p. 1428To play with any thing; hence, to be busy about trifles. Halliwell.Twī'făl-lōw, v. t. p. 1428To plow a second time;—said of land that is fallowed.Twĭ'fold, a. p. 1428Twofold; twice as many. [Colloq. and low.] [Obs.] Spenser.Twĭg, n. p. 1428A small shoot or branch of a tree or other plant, of no definite length or size. The Britons had boats made of willow twigs, covered on the outside with hides. Raleigh.Twĭg, v. t. p. 1428To beat with twigs.Twĭg, v. t. p. 1428To twitch; to pull; to tweak. [Obs.] 2. To understand the meaning of; as, do you twig me? [Colloq. and low.] Marryatt. 3. To observe slyly. “Now twig him; now mind him.” Foote. His exceedingly homely…Twĭg'ġen, a. p. 1429Made of twigs; wicker. [Obs.]Twig'ger, n. p. 1429A fornicator. [Eng.] Halliwell.Twig'gy, a. p. 1429Full of twigs; abounding with shoots.Twig'less, a. p. 1429Having no twigs.Twig'-rush, n. p. 1429(Bot.) A rush-like plant of the genus Cladium, having hard, and sometimes prickly-edged, leaves or stalks.Twig'sōme, a. p. 1429Full of, or abounding in, twigs. [Rare.] “Twigsome trees.” Dickens.Twi'/light (-lit), n. p. 1429The faint light perceived before the rising and after the setting of the sun, or when he is less than 18° below the horizon, occasioned by the illumination of the earth's atmosphere by the direct…Twī'light, a. p. 1429Imperfectly illuminated; shaded; obscure. O'er the twilight groves and dusky caves. Pope. 2. Seen or done by twilight.Twĭll, v. t. p. 1429To weave, as cloth, so as to produce the appearance of diagonal lines or ribs, on the surface of; to quill.Twĭll, n. p. 1429An appearance of diagonal lines or ribs produced in textile fabrics by causing the weft threads to pass over one and under two, or over one and under three or more, warp-threads, instead of over one…Twĭl'ly or Twĭl'ly-dĕv'il, n. p. 1429A machine for cleansing or loosening wool by the action of a revolving cylinder covered with long iron spikes or teeth; a willy or willying-machine. See WILLY. Tomlinson.Twĭlt, n. p. 1429A quilt. [Prov. Eng.] Grose.