different between twig vs widdy

English

Etymology 1

From Middle English twig, twyg, from Old English twi?, from Proto-Germanic *tw?g? (compare West Frisian twiich, Dutch twijg, German Zweig), from Proto-Indo-European *dweyg?om (compare Old Church Slavonic ????? (dvig?, “branch”), Albanian degë (“branch”)), from *dwóh?. More at two.

Pronunciation

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

Noun

twig (plural twigs)

1. A small thin branch of a tree or bush.

   They used twigs and leaves as a base to start the fire.

Synonyms

• tillow

Derived terms

• off one's twig
• twig and berries

Translations

Verb

twig (third-person singular simple present twigs, present participle twigging, simple past and past participle twigged)

1. (transitive) To beat with twigs.

Etymology 2

From Irish and Scottish Gaelic tuig (“to understand”).

Verb

twig (third-person singular simple present twigs, present participle twigging, simple past and past participle twigged)

1. (colloquial, regional) To realise something; to catch on; to recognize someone or something.
2. To understand the meaning of (a person); to comprehend.

3. To observe slyly; also, to perceive; to discover.

Synonyms

• (to realise something): clock, get it, notice; see also Thesaurus:identify
• (to understand the meaning): fathom, figure out, grasp, ken, work out
• (to observe slyly): check out, peep, spy on, surveil

Translations

Etymology 3

Compare tweak.

Verb

twig (third-person singular simple present twigs, present participle twigging, simple past and past participle twigged)

1. (obsolete, Scotland) To twitch; to pull; to tweak.

Middle English

Alternative forms

• (Early ME) twi, twi?
• twigge, twyg, twygge, tuyg

Etymology

From Old English tw?g, from Proto-Germanic *tw?g?.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /twi?/, /twi?/

Noun

twig (plural twigges)

1. Any part of a tree, especially a branch or cutting:
   1. A twig or tillow; a shoot branching off a tree.
   2. A easily bending branch used in crafts.
2. (figuratively, rare) A subtype or part of something; the result or descendant of something.

Descendants

• English: twig
• Scots: twigg, tuigg

References

• “twig, n.”, in MED Online, Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan, 2007, retrieved 2018-08-08.

Old English

Etymology

From Proto-Germanic *twig?.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /twij/

Noun

twi? n

1. twig
2. branch

Declension

Descendants

• Middle English: twig
  • English: twig

English

Etymology 1

Compare withy.

Noun

widdy (plural widdies)

1. (Scotland) A rope or halter made of flexible twigs, or withes, as of birch.

Etymology 2

Noun

widdy (plural widdies)

1. Pronunciation spelling of widow.
   • 1877 — Gilbert & Sullivan, The Sorcerer

     I'm no saucy minx and giddy—
     Hussies such as them abound—
     But a clean and tidy widdy
     Well be-known for miles around.