twine

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See also:Twine

English

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Alternative forms

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Pronunciation

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Etymology 1

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FromMiddle Englishtwyn,twyne,twin,fromOld Englishtwīn(“double thread, twist, twine, linen-thread, linen”),fromProto-West Germanic*twiʀn(“thread, twine”),fromProto-Indo-European*dwisnós(“double”),from*dwóh₁(“two”).

Noun

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Wikipedia

twine(countableanduncountable,pluraltwines)

  1. Atwist;aconvolution.
  2. A strongthreadcomposed of two or three smaller threads or strands twisted together, and used for various purposes, as for binding small parcels, making nets, and the like; a small cord or string.
    • 1911,Anna Botsford Comstock,Handbook of Nature Study,24th edition, published1939,pages120–121:
      The orioles like to build the framework oftwine,and it is marvelous how they will loop this around a twig almost as evenly knotted as if crocheted[…]
  3. The act of twining or winding round.
  4. Intimate and suggestive dance gyrations.
    • 1965,Wilson Pickett,Don't Fight It(blues song), BMI Music.
      The way you jerk, the way you do thetwine/ You're too much, baby; I'd like to make you mine [...]
Coordinate terms
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  • (threads or strands twisted together):sinew
Derived terms
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Translations
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Etymology 2

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FromMiddle Englishtwinen,twynen,fromOld English*twīnian(“to twine, thread”),fromProto-Germanic*twiznōną(“to thread”),fromProto-Indo-European*dwisnós(“double”),fromProto-Indo-European*dwóh₁(“two”).Cognate withDutchtwijnen(“to twine, contort, throw”),Danishtvinde(“to twist”),Swedishtvinna(“to twist, twine, throw”),Icelandictvinna(“to merge, twine”).

Verb

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twine(third-person singular simple presenttwines,present participletwining,simple past and past participletwined)

  1. (transitive)Toweavetogether.
  2. (transitive)To wind, as one thread around another, or as any flexible substance around another body.
  3. (transitive)To wind about; to embrace; toentwine.
  4. (intransitive)To mutually twist together; to become mutually involved; tointertwine.
    • 1941,Emily Carr,chapter 1, inKlee Wyck‎[2]:
      Usually some old crone was squatted on the earth floor, weaving cedar fibre or tatters of old cloth into a mat, her claw-like fingerstwiningin and out, in and out, among the strands that were fastened to a crude frame of sticks.
  5. (intransitive)To wind; to bend; to make turns; tomeander.
    • 1713,Jonathan Swift,Cadenus and Vanessa‎[3]:
      As rivers, though they bend andtwine,
      Still to the sea their course incline:
  6. (intransitive)Toascendinspirallinesabout asupport;toclimbspirally.
    Many plantstwine.
  7. (obsolete)To turn round; torevolve.
    • 1598,George Chapman,Hero and Leander:
      dancers twine midst cedar-fragrant glades
  8. (obsolete)To change the direction of.
  9. (obsolete)To mingle; to mix.
    • 1646,Richard Crashaw,M. Crashaw’s Answer for Hope‎[5],lines29–30:
      As lumpes of sugar loose themselues, andtwine
      Their subtile essence with the soul of wine.
Derived terms
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Translations
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to wind, as one thread around another, or as any flexible substance around another body

Etymology 3

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Verb

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twine(third-person singular simple presenttwines,present participletwining,simple past and past participletwined)

  1. Alternative form oftwin(“to separate”)

Yola

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Numeral

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twine

  1. Alternative form oftwye

References

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  • Jacob Poole (d. 1827) (before 1828) William Barnes, editor,A Glossary, With some Pieces of Verse, of the old Dialect of the English Colony in the Baronies of Forth and Bargy, County of Wexford, Ireland,London: J. Russell Smith, published1867,page73
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