twister

English

Etymology

From Middle English twyster, equivalent to twist +‎ -er.

Pronunciation

• (UK) IPA^(key): /ˈtwɪstə(ɹ)/
• (General American) IPA^(key): /ˈtwɪstɚ/
• Rhymes: -ɪstə(ɹ)

• Audio (Southern England)

  (file)

Noun

twister (plural twisters)

1. One who twists.
   1. One whose occupation is to twist or join the threads of one warp to those of another, in weaving.
2. An instrument used in twisting or making twists.
   • 1653, John Wallis, Grammatica Linguæ Anglicanæ:

     He, twirling his twister, makes a twist of the twine.

3. A ball delivered with a twist, as in cricket or billiards.
4. (colloquial) A tornado.
5. (carpentry) A girder.
6. (dated) The inner part of the thigh, the proper place to rest upon when on horseback.
7. (British, colloquial) A crook, a villain.
   • 1960, P. G. Wodehouse, Jeeves in the Offing, chapter IX:

     “I don't know if it's my imagination, Kipper,” I said, “but something gives me the impression that at moment of going to press you aren't too sold on Bobbie.” He shrugged a shoulder. “Oh, I wouldn't say that. Apart from wishing I could throttle the young twister with my bare hands and jump on the remains with hobnailed boots, I don't feel much about her one way or the other.”

8. Any of species Tholymis tillarga of libellulid dragonfly, of tropical West Africa to Asia, Australia, and the Pacific Islands.
9. The party game Twister, usually capitalized, or a variant.

Quotations

• For quotations using this term, see Citations:twister.

Derived terms

Translations

See also

• dust devil
• water spout
• willy-willy

Anagrams

• Witters, retwist, witters, writest

French

Etymology

From twist +‎ -er.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /twis.te/

• Audio

  (file)

Verb

twister

1. (dance) to dance the twist, to twist

Conjugation

Further reading

• “twister”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé , 2012.