tic
/tɪk/ noun, verb
Forms tics ticcing ticced
- noun (neurology) A sudden, nonrhythmic motor movement or vocalization.
- noun (by extension) Something that is done or produced habitually or characteristically.
- verb (intransitive) To exhibit a tic; to undergo a sudden, semi-voluntary muscle movement.
Etymology
Borrowed from French tic.
Clipping of ticket.
Webster’s 1913
- noun A local and habitual convulsive motion of certain muscles; especially, such a motion of some of the muscles of the face; twitching; velication; --called also spasmodic tic. Dunglison. Tic douloureux (. Etym: [F., fr. tic a knack, a twitching + douloureux painful.] (Med.) Neuralgia in the face; face ague. See under Face.
Etymology [F.]
Sources: Wiktionary · Webster’s 1913 — from the Wiktionary entry “tic”, CC BY-SA 4.0. Details