twinge

Meaning

Verb

1. (intransitive) To have a sudden, pinching or sharp pain in a specific part of the body, like a twitch.
2. (dialectal, intransitive) To pull and twist.
3. (dialectal, obsolete, transitive) To pull and twist (someone or something); to pinch, to tweak, to twitch, to wring.
4. (obsolete, transitive) To affect or torment (someone, their mind, or part of their body) with one or more sudden, pinching or sharp pains; to irritate.
5. (figuratively, obsolete, transitive) To prick or stimulate (one's conscience).

Noun

1. A sudden, pinching or sharp pain in a specific part of the body, especially one lasting for a short time.
2. (also, figuratively, rare) A turn, a twist.
3. (figuratively) A sudden, sharp feeling of an emotional or mental nature, as of guilt or sadness; a pang, a paroxysm, a throe; also, a prick of the conscience.
4. (figuratively) A sudden, sharp occurrence of something; a nip.
5. (UK, dialectal) Synonym of earwig (“insect of the order Dermaptera”).
6. (obsolete) An act of pulling and twisting; a pinch, a tweak, a twitch.

Synonyms

prick

sting

pang

stab

twitch

nip

squeeze

stitch

tweet

jab

pain

pinch

vellicate

ache

smart

bite

stabbing pain

tingle

shoot

puncture

stick

nibble

nick

peck

pick

⛏️

pique

poke

press

press out

pricking

prickle

prise

prod

protrude

rankle

ream

set

sheathe

smarting

spasm

spear

spur

squeeze out

stinging

throbbing

tweak

wad

wring

dull pain

sharp pain

Translations

punzada

Stechen

fitta

τσιμπώ

steek

üzüntü

azap

قرص

Stich

κεντώ

خز

stechender Schmerz

élancement

نخس

نخز

Pronounced as (IPA)

/twɪnd͡ʒ/

Etymology

Inherited from Middle English: twengen

Inherited from Old English: twenġan

Cognate with Old High German: zwengen

Cognate with Old English: twingan

In summary

The verb is derived from Middle English twengen (“to nip, pinch, tweak; to tear at”), from Old English twenġan (“to pinch, squeeze”), from Proto-West Germanic *twangijan (“to pinch, squeeze”), from Proto-Germanic *twangijaną (“to pinch, squeeze”), the causative form of *twinganą (“to press, squeeze”); further etymology uncertain, possibly related to *þwangiz (“belt, strap, thong; pressure, restraint”) or *þwinganą, *þwinhaną (“to constrain; to force”) (whence German zwingen), both ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *twenk- (“to press, pressure, squeeze”). However, the Oxford English Dictionary says there is no evidence for such a relationship.
The noun is derived from the verb.