Twit the Insult and Twit the Verb Are Connected
A twit is a foolish person. The verb means to tease someone about a fault.
A twit is a foolish or annoying person, and *to twit* is to tease someone about a fault. The verb is far older and explains the noun: Old English *ætwitan* meant to reproach or blame, and the noun grew from the idea of someone who deserves it. The word lost its first syllable over time, like *cute* from *acute*. *Twit* is mild in British English, on a level with *fool*, and Roald Dahl's *The Twits* uses it in exactly that register.
- A foolish person. *What a twit.*
- To tease. *Twitting him about it.*
- Twitty. *Twitty behaviour.*
- Reproach (archaic). *Ætwitan.*
- Old English — *ætwitan*. *The source.*
Word forms
| Form | Word | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Noun | twit | A twit. |
| Plural | twits | Twits. |
| Verb | twit | Twitting. |
| Past | twitted | Twitted. |
| Old English | ætwitan | To reproach. |
- Don't be such a twit.Insult.
- They twitted him about his hat.Verb.
- Aetwitan meant to reproach.Etymology.
Mild British insults
- Twit — foolish, quite mild
- Prat — foolish, slightly stronger
- Berk — stronger than it sounds, from rhyming slang
- Wally — silly, gently mocking
- Plonker — foolish, popularised by television
From Old English *ætwitan*, to reproach or blame, with the first syllable lost over time.
Which came first, the noun or the verb?
The verb. Old English ætwitan meant to reproach, and the noun grew from the idea of one who deserves reproach.
How strong an insult is twit?
Mild. In British English it sits roughly alongside fool or silly.