different between banter vs twit

English

Etymology

1670s as verb, 1680s as noun. The origin is unknown, possibly from London street slang; ostensibly as *bant + -er (frequentative). Possibly an Anglo-Gaelicism from the Irish bean (“woman”), so that "banter" means "talk of women."

Pronunciation

• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /?bænt?/
• (US) IPA^(key): /?bænt?/
• Rhymes: -ænt?(?)

Noun

banter (uncountable)

1. Sharp, good-humoured, playful, typically spontaneous conversation.

   Synonyms: pleasantry, raillery

Translations

Verb

banter (third-person singular simple present banters, present participle bantering, simple past and past participle bantered)

1. (intransitive) To engage in banter or playful conversation.
2. (intransitive) To play or do something amusing.
3. (transitive) To tease (someone) mildly.

   Synonyms: kid, wind up
4. (transitive) To joke about; to ridicule (a trait, habit, etc.).
   • June 1804, William Pitt, 1st Earl of Chatham

     If they banter your regularity, order, and love of study, banter in return their neglect of them.

5. (transitive) To delude or trick; to play a prank upon.
6. (transitive, US, Southern and Western, colloquial) To challenge to a match.

Translations

Derived terms

• bant

References

Further reading

• Michael Quinion (1996–2021) , “Banter”, in World Wide Words

Anagrams

• Barnet, Bernat, barnet

English

Etymology

Originally twite, an aphetism of Middle English atwite.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /tw?t/, [t?w??t]
• Rhymes: -?t

Verb

twit (third-person singular simple present twits, present participle twitting, simple past and past participle twitted)

1. (transitive) To reproach, blame; to ridicule or tease.
   • 1590, Shakespeare. History of Henry VI, Part II, Act III, Scene I

     "Hath he not twit our sovereign lady here

     With ignominious words, though clerkly couch'd,

     As if she had suborned some to swear

     False allegations to o'erthrow his state? " -

   • 1836, Joanna Baillie, Romiero, Act 3, p.55.

     "Nay, do not twit me now with all the freaks,
     And levities, and gambols charged upon me
     By every lean-faced dame that wears a hood."

   • 1955, Rex Stout, "When a Man Murders...", in Three Witnesses, October 1994 Bantam edition, ?ISBN, page 106:

     Mr. Cramer, a policeman, came this morning and twitted me for having let a murderer hoodwink me.

   • 2007, Bernard Porter, "Did He Puff his Crimes to Please a Bloodthirsty Readership?", review of Stanley: The Impossible Life of Africa’s Greatest Explorer by Tim Jeal, London Review of Books, 5 April, 29:7, p. 10

     H. R. Fox Bourne, secretary of the Aborigines' Protection Society – often twitted for being an ‘armchair critic’ – wrote in a review of one of Stanley's books […]

   • a. 1694, John Tillotson, The Folly of Scoffing at Religion

     This […] these scoffers twitted the Christian with.
2. (transitive, computing) To ignore or killfile (a user on a bulletin board system).
   • 1995, "Michelle Jackson", Debutante/Question about Tori Shirts (on newsgroup rec.music.tori-amos)

     However, on the Internet BBS's such as Quartz (now dead), Prism, Monsoon, Sunset, ect^[sic], someone pulling that kind of crap is likely to get flamed quite fast and twitted before he/she can breathe.

   • 2002, "Chris Hoppman", FidoNet Feed Needed (on newsgroup alt.bbs)

     And no, there is no "thought purification program" that can filter out some folks^[sic] obscene ideas that can be expressed w/o written vulgarities. That has to be simply "dealt" with, either by ignoring or twitting the individual that offends habitually.

Translations

Noun

twit (plural twits)

1. A reproach, gibe or taunt.
2. A foolish or annoying person.
   • 1988, Larry Kramer, Just Say No

     What do you mean, since when did I become such a radical fairy? Since I started knowing twits like you, you twit!

3. A euphemism for "twat", a contemptible or stupid person.
   • 2009, David Cameron

     "Too many twits make a twat." He was subsequently pilloried for not knowing that "twat" is actually very rude, and for not realising that one is a euphemism for the other.

     https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2009/jul/29/david-cameron-apology-radio-twitter

4. A person who twitters, i.e. chatters inanely (see usage notes).

Usage notes

In the UK, the word "twit" for a person is usually used in a humorous or affectionate manner.

Synonyms

• See also Thesaurus:fool

Derived terms

• twitling

Translations

Anagrams

• Witt

French

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /twit/

Noun

twit m (plural twits)

1. (Quebec, colloquial) twit (foolish person)
2. a tweet (a message on Twitter)

Synonyms

• (Twitter): tweet

Related terms

• (Twitter): twitter

Spanish

Noun

twit m (plural twits)

1. tweet (message on Twitter)