tweak
English
/twiːk/
verb
Definitions
- (transitive) To pinch and pull with a sudden jerk and twist; to twitch.
- (transitive) To adjust slightly; to fine-tune.
- (transitive) To twit or tease.
- (intransitive) To abuse methamphetamines, especially crystal meth.
- (intransitive) To exhibit symptoms of methamphetamine abuse, such as extreme nervousness, compulsiveness, erratic motion, excitability; possibly a blend of twitch and freak.
- (intransitive) To exhibit extreme nervousness, evasiveness when confronted by law enforcement or other authority (e.g., customs agents, border patrol, teacher, etc.), mimicking methamphetamine abuse symptoms.
Etymology
Inherited from Middle English twikken inherited from Old English twiccian (pluck) inherited from *twekkōn (pinch, clamp, fasten).
Origin
*twekkōn
Gloss
pinch, clamp, fasten
Concept
Semantic Field
Sense perception
Ontological Category
Action/Process
Emoji
🤌
Timeline
Distribution of cognates by language
Geogrpahic distribution of cognates
Cognates and derived terms
- angle English
- angletwitch English
- atwitch English
- retweak English
- tweakable English
- tweakage English
- tweaker English
- tweaky English
- twitch English
- twitchable English
- twitcher English
- twitchy English
- untweakable English
- twiccian Old English
- angletwitche Middle English
- twicchen Middle English
- twikken Middle English
- *twekkōn gmw-pro