different between terp vs twerp

English

Pronunciation

• (General American) IPA^(key): /t?p/
• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /t??p/
• Rhymes: -??(?)p

Etymology 1

Clipping of interpreter.

Noun

terp (plural terps)

1. (military or Deaf slang) An interpreter (translator).
2. (computing, slang) An interpreter (program that parses and executes another program).

Alternative forms

• 'terp

Etymology 2

Clipping of terpene.

Noun

terp (plural terps)

1. Any of various essential oils containing monoterpene alcohols which are added to a henna mix to darken the color.

Verb

terp (third-person singular simple present terps, present participle terping, simple past and past participle terped)

1. (transitive) To add such an essential oil to (a henna mix).

Etymology 3

Clipping of Terpsichore, the goddess of dance and the dramatic chorus in Greek mythology.

Noun

terp (countable and uncountable, plural terps)

1. (dated, slang) Dance.

Derived terms

• terpery

Verb

terp (third-person singular simple present terps, present participle terping, simple past and past participle terped)

1. (transitive, dated, slang) To dance.

Etymology 4

From Dutch terp (“terp”).

Noun

terp (plural terps or terpen)

1. An artificial dwelling mound found on the North European Plain that has been created to provide safe ground during storm surges, high tides and sea or river flooding.

Further reading

• Terp (disambiguation) on Wikipedia.Wikipedia

Anagrams

• -pter, PERT, pert, pret.

Dutch

Etymology

Borrowed from West Frisian terp, from Old Frisian therp, from Proto-West Germanic *þorp, from Proto-Germanic *þurp?, *þrep? (“village, farmstead, troop”), from Proto-Indo-European *treb- (“dwelling, room”). Doublet of dorp.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /t?rp/
• Hyphenation: terp
• Rhymes: -?rp

Noun

terp m (plural terpen, diminutive terpje n)

1. artificial mound or hillock used as shelter during high tide

Synonyms

• wierde

Derived terms

• Terpstra

Anagrams

• pret, rept

West Frisian

Etymology

From Old Frisian thorp, therp, from Proto-West Germanic *þorp.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /t?rp/

Noun

terp c (plural terpen, diminutive terpke)

1. artificial mound or hillock used as shelter during high tide
2. (archaic) village

   Synonym: doarp

Derived terms

• Terpstra

Descendants

• ? Dutch: terp

Further reading

• “terp”, in Wurdboek fan de Fryske taal (in Dutch), 2011

English

Alternative forms

• twirp

Etymology

Of uncertain origin. The Oxford English Dictionary writes that it may have been coined (perhaps by J. R. R. Tolkien) around 1910 from the name of T. W. Earp. However, the Dictionary of American Slang writes that it was in use in 1874. It may be a dialectal variant of dwarf (compare Middle English dwerf, Low German Twarg); it may also derive from the onomatopoeic twirp.The word was used to denote a type of racing pigeon that flew between Antwerp and London c. 1870 [see "The Odd Facts of Life" – Bill Hooper, published in 1965]. It may also be related to the Welsh twp, a fool.

Pronunciation

• (General American) IPA^(key): /tw?p/
• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /tw??p/
• Rhymes: -??(?)p

Noun

twerp (plural twerps)

1. (Britain, colloquial) A fool, a twit.

   Now you've broken it, you twerp!

2. (US, colloquial) A small or puny person; one regarded as insignificant, contemptible.

   Get out of my way, you little twerp!

3. (US, colloquial) A person who can be bullied playfully, or easily teased. Sometimes used as a pet-name (often for a younger sibling).

Synonyms

• (puny person): twerk
• (fool): twit
• (fool): git

Related terms

• twerk

Translations

References

• See Citations:twerp.