Link Centre Dictionary

twinge

US/twɪnd͡ʒ/ rare obsolete rare uk
noun (2) verb (3)

noun

1.

a sudden sharp feeling

  • “pangs of regret”
  • “she felt a stab of excitement”
  • “twinges of conscience”
Synonyms
2.

a sharp stab of pain

verb

1.

cause a stinging pain

  • “The needle pricked his skin”
Synonyms
2.
3.

squeeze tightly between the fingers

  • “He pinched her behind”
  • “She squeezed the bottle”
Synonyms

Origin

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.

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WordNet 2.1 (Princeton University). Wiktionary (CC BY-SA). CMU Pronouncing Dictionary. WordNet 2.1 Copyright Princeton University. All rights reserved. Wiktionary content is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike Licence.