twine
/twaɪn/ noun, verb, proper noun
Forms twines twining twined twyne
- noun A twist; a convolution.
- noun A strong thread composed 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.
- noun The act of twining or winding round.
- noun Intimate and suggestive dance gyrations.
- verb (transitive) To weave together.
- verb (transitive) To wind, as one thread around another, or as any flexible substance around another body.
- verb (transitive) To wind about; to embrace; to entwine.
- verb (intransitive) To mutually twist together; to become mutually involved; to intertwine.
- verb (intransitive) To wind; to bend; to make turns; to meander.
- verb (intransitive) To ascend in spiral lines about a support; to climb spirally. “Many plants twine.”
- verb (obsolete) To turn round; to revolve.
- verb (obsolete) To change the direction of.
- proper noun A surname.
Synonyms
betwine entwine intertwine braid entwist interlace interthread intertwist interweave lace lock raddle ruddle twist string enlace wind wrap roll distort
Antonyms
Etymology
From Middle English twyn, twyne, twin, from Old English twīn (“double thread, twist, twine, linen-thread, linen”), from Proto-West Germanic *twiʀn (“thread, twine”), from Proto-Germanic *twiznaz, from Proto-Indo-European *dwisnós (“double”), from *dwóh₁ (“two”).
From Middle English twinen, twynen, from Old English *twīnian (“to twine, thread”), from Proto-Germanic *twiznōną (“to thread”), from Proto-Indo-European *dwisnós (“double”), from Proto-Indo-European *dwóh₁ (“two”). Cognate with Dutch twijnen (“to twine, contort, throw”), Danish tvinde (“to twist”), Swedish tvinna (“to twist, twine, throw”), Icelandic tvinna (“to merge, twine”).
Webster’s 1913
- noun A twist; a convolution.
- noun A strong thread composed 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.
- verb To twist together; to form by twisting or winding of threads; to wreathe; as, fine twined linen.
- verb To wind, as one thread around another, or as any flexible substance around another body.
Etymology [AS. twin, properly, a twisted or double thread; akin to D. twijn, Icel. twinni; from twi-. See Twice, and cf. Twin.]
Etymology [OE. twinen, fr. AS. twin a twisted thread; akin to D. twijnen to twine, Icel. & Sw. tvinna, Dan. tvinde. See Twine, n.]
Sources: Wiktionary · WordNet 3.0 · Webster’s 1913 — from the Wiktionary entry “twine”, CC BY-SA 4.0. Details