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An American Dictionary of the English Language

Revised and enlarged (Goodrich & Porter)

Springfield, Mass. · G. & C. Merriam · 1865

Entries
95,912
Pages
1,538
Illustrations
2,133

Look up a word as the writers of the time used it.

  1. Twĭn'ner, n.p. 1429One who twins; a breeder of twins. Tusser.
  2. Twĭn'ter, n.p. 1429A beast two winters old. [Prov. Eng.] Grose.
  3. Twīre, v. i.p. 1429To sing, or murmur with a gentle sound; to twitter. Chaucer. 2. To peep out; to glance obliquely; to leer affectedly. “Which maids will twire at ’tween their fingers.” B. Jonson. I saw the wench that…
  4. Twire, n.p. 1429A twisted filament; a thread. Locke.
  5. Twīre'-pipe, n.p. 1429A vagabond musician. [Obs.] You are an ass, a twire-pipe. Beau. & Fl. I have said . . . that you looked like Twire-pipe, the taborer. Chapman.
  6. Twirl, v. t.p. 1429To move or turn round with rapidity; to whirl round; to move and turn rapidly with the fingers. See ruddy maids, Some taught with dexterous hand to twirl the wheel. Dodsley. No more beneath soft…
  7. Twĭrl, v. i.p. 1429To revolve with velocity; to be whirled round rapidly.
  8. Twĭrl, n.p. 1429A rapid, circular motion; a whirling; quick rotation. 2. Twist; convolution. [Rare.] Woodward.
  9. Twĭst, v. t.p. 1429To contort; to writhe; to complicate; to crook spirally; to convolve. Twist it into a serpentine form. Pope. 2. Hence, to turn from the true form or meaning; to pervert; as, to twist a passage cited…
  10. Twĭst, v. i.p. 1429To be contorted or united by winding round each other; to be or become twisted; as, some strands will twist more easily than others.
  11. Twĭst, n.p. 1429A 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…
  12. Twist'er, n.p. 1429One who twists; the person whose occupation is to twist or join the threads of one to those of another, in weaving. 2. The instrument used in twisting, or making twists. The twain that, in twining…
  13. Twist'ie-al, a.p. 1429Having a twist; tortuous; hence, perverse; unfair; dishonest. [Colloq. and vulgar, U. S.] Bartlett.
  14. Twit, v. t.p. 1429To vex by bringing to notice or reminding of a fault, defect, misfortune, or the like; to fling at; to revile; to reproach; to upbraid; to taunt; as, he twitted his friend of falsehood. With this…
  15. Twitch, v. t.p. 1429To pull with a sudden jerk; to pluck with a short, quick motion; to snatch; as, to twitch one by the sleeve; to twitch a thing out of another's hand; to twitch off clusters of grapes. Thrice they…
  16. Twĭtch, n.p. 1429A pull with a jerk; a short, sudden, quick pull; as, a twitch by the sleeve. 2. A short, spastic contraction of the fibers or muscles; as, convulsive twitches; a twitch in the side.
  17. Twĭtch'er, n.p. 1429One who, or that which, twitches.
  18. Twĭtch'-grȧss, n.p. 1429(Bot.) A species of grass which it is difficult to exterminate; Triticum repens; couch-grass; dog-grass; quitch-grass;—applied also to various species of grass that are difficult to pull out of the…
  19. Twīte, n.p. 1429(Ornith.) A passerine bird of the genus Fringilla (F. montana); tree-sparrow.
  20. Twit'ter, v. t.p. 1429To make a succession of small, tremulous, intermitted noises. The swallow, twittering from his straw-built shed. Gray. 2. To have a slight trembling of the nerves; to be excited or agitated. 3. To…
  21. Twit'ter, n.p. 1429One who twits, or reproaches.
  22. Twĭt'ter, n.p. 1430A small, tremulous, intermitted noise, as that made by a swallow or other singing-bird. 2. A slight trembling or agitation of the nerves. 3. A half-suppressed laugh; a fit of laughter but partially…
  23. Twit'ter-ing, n.p. 1430The act of one who, or that which, twitters. 2. A state of slight excitement; agitation or nervousness arising from expectation or suspense; the state of being nervous or agitated from inclination…
  24. Twĭt'ting-ly, adv.p. 1430In a twitting manner; with upbraiding.
  25. Twit'tle-twat/tle, n.p. 1430Tattle; gabble. [Vulgar.] L'Estrange.
  26. ’Twixtp. 1430A contraction of betwixt, used in poetry, or in colloquial language.
  27. Two, a.p. 1430One and one. “Two black clouds.” Milton. Two is often used in the formation of self-explaining compounds, denoting something having, or consisting of, two parts, divisions, or organs, or something…
  28. Two, n.p. 1430The sum of one and one; the number next less than three. 2. A symbol representing two units, as 2, or ii.
  29. Twō'-cāp'suled, a.p. 1430(Bot.) Having two distinct capsules; bicapsular.
  30. Twō'-cleft, a.p. 1430(Bot.) Divided half-way from the border to the base into two segments; bifid.
  31. Two'-dēck'er, n.p. 1430A vessel of war carrying guns on two decks. Simmonds.
  32. Two'-edged, a.p. 1430Having two edges, or edges on both sides; as, a two-edged sword.
  33. Two'fold, a.p. 1430Double; duplicate; multiplied by two; as, twofold nature; a twofold sense; a twofold argument. 2. (Bot.) Two and two together, growing from the same place; as twofold leaves.
  34. Two'fold, adv.p. 1430In a double degree; doubly.
  35. Two'-fōot, a.p. 1430Measuring two feet; two feet long, thick, or wide; as, a two-foot rule.
  36. Two'-fôrked, a.p. 1430Divided into two parts somewhat after the manner of a fork; dichotomous.
  37. Two'-hānd'ed, a.p. 1430Having two hands; —often used as an epithet equivalent to large, stout, strong, and powerful. “Two-handed sway.” Milton. 2. Used with both hands; as, a two-handed sword. “That two-handed engine [the…
  38. Two'-lipped, a.p. 1430Having two lips. 2. (Bot.) Divided in such a manner as to resemble the two lips when the mouth is more or less open; bilabiate.
  39. Two'-part'ed, a.p. 1430(Bot.) Divided from the border to the base into two distinct parts; bipartite.
  40. Two'-pĕnçe, n.p. 1430A small coin and money of account, in England, equivalent to two pennies; — minted to a fixed annual amount, for alms-giving by the sovereign on Maundy-Thursday. Simmonds.
  41. Two'-pĕn-ny, a.p. 1430Of the value of two-pence.
  42. Two'-plȳ, a.p. 1430Consisting of two thicknesses, as cloth; double. 2. Woven double, as cloth or carpeting, by incorporating two sets of threads of the warp and two sets of the weft.
  43. Two'-rănked, a.p. 1430(Bot.) Alternately disposed on exactly opposite sides of the stem so as to form two ranks; distichous. Gray.
  44. Twō'-tōngued, a.p. 1430Double-tongued; deceitful. Sandys.
  45. Twȳ'-blāde, n.p. 1430See TWAY-BLADE.
  46. Tȳ'-all, n.p. 1430Something serving to tie or secure. [Obs. and rare.] Latimer.
  47. Tȳ'burn-tīck'et, n.p. 1430(Eng. Law.) A certificate that expenses are due, given to the prosecutor of a felon to conviction.
  48. Ty-chōn'ic, a.p. 1430Of, or pertaining to, Tycho Brahe, or to his system of astronomy.
  49. Tȳ-cōon', n.p. 1430The political sovereign of Japan.
  50. Tȳ'dy, n.p. 1430A small singing-bird; the tidy. [Obs.]
  51. Tȳe, v. t.p. 1430To bind or fasten; to tie.
  52. Tȳe, n.p. 1430A knot; a tie. See TIE. 2. (Naut.) A rope, one end of which passes through the mast, and is made fast to the center of a yard; the other end of the rope is attached to a tackle, by means of which the…
  53. Tȳ'er, n.p. 1430One who ties or unites.
  54. Ty-fōon', n.p. 1430The same as TYPHOON, q. v.
  55. Ty'ger, n.p. 1430A tiger. See TIGER.
  56. Tȳ'ing, p. pr.p. 1430of tie and tye. See TIE.
  57. Tȳ'ing, n.p. 1430(Mining.) The act or process of washing ores. Weale.
  58. Ty'ke, n.p. 1430A dog, or one as contemptible as a dog; a tike.
  59. Ty'ler, n.p. 1430(Free-masonry.) One who stands as door-keeper or guard of a lodge with a drawn sword.
  60. Tȳm'bal, n.p. 1430A kind of kettle-drum. A tymbal's sound were better than my voice. Prior.