Dictionary Definition
twig n : small branch or division of a branch;
usually applied to branches of the current or preceding year [syn:
branchlet, sprig]
Verb
1 branch out in a twiglike manner; "The lightning
bolt twigged in several directions"
2 understand, usually after some initial
difficulty; "She didn't know what her classmates were plotting but
finally caught on" [syn: catch on,
get
wise, get onto,
tumble, latch on,
cotton
on, get
it] [also: twigging, twigged]
User Contributed Dictionary
English
Etymology 1
- (Noun) - from the Germanic root twi-, expressing (forking into) two-ness; cognate with Latin duo (two)
Pronunciation
-
- Rhymes: -ɪɡ
Translations
a small thin branch
Derived terms
Etymology 2
From Irish and Scots Gaelic tuig, "to understand"Verb
Translations
to realise something
- French: entraver, capter
- German: mitbekommen, checken
- Japanese: 気づく
- Scottish Gaelic: tuig
Extensive Definition
A twig is a small terminal branch section that may bear
leaves, buds and sometimes the flowers and fruit of plants. Only dicotyledonous flowering woody plants
and most gymnosperms
have true twigs; monocotyledons and
tree
ferns do not.
Twigs are critically important in identification
of trees, shrubs and vines, especially in wintertime.
The buds on the twig are an important diagnostic characteristic, as
are the abscission
scars where the leaves have fallen away. The color, texture, and
patterning of the twig bark
is also important, as is the thickness and nature of any pith of the twig.
There are two types of twigs: vegetative twigs
and fruiting spurs. Fruiting spurs are specialized twigs that
generally branch off the sides of branches and leading twigs, and
are stubby and slow-growing, with many annular ring markings from
seasons past. The age and rate of growth of a twig can be
determined by counting the winter terminal bud scale scars, or
annular ring marking, down the length of the twig.
twig in German: Zweig (Botanik)
twig in Limburgan: Wis
twig in Swedish: Kvist
twig in Turkish: Dal
Synonyms, Antonyms and Related Words
accept,
appendage, arm, bine, bough, branch, branchedness, branchiness, burgeon, catch, catch on, comprehend, craze, cry, deadwood, descry, dig, discern, distinguish, divine, espy, fad, fathom, flagellum, fork, frond, furore, get, grasp, hand, imp, joint, know, leg, limb, link, lobe, lobule, mark, member, mode, note, notice, observe, offshoot, organ, perceive, pinion, rage, ramage, ramification, rumble, runner, sapling, sarment, scion, see, seedling, sense, set, shoot, slip, spear, spray, sprig, sprit, sprout, spur, stem, stick, stolon, style, sucker, switch, tail, take, take in, tendril, thallus, tumble to, understand, vogue, wing