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wiggle. In DICTIOUS you will not only get to know all the dictionary meanings for the word
wiggle, but we will also tell you about its etymology, its characteristics and you will know how to say
wiggle in singular and plural. Everything you need to know about the word
wiggle you have here. The definition of the word
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English
Etymology
From Middle English wiglen, probably from Middle Dutch wigelen (“to wiggle”) and perhaps Middle Low German wigelen, frequentative of wiegen (“to rock”), from wiege (“cradle”). See wain, and Dutch wieg (“cradle”).
Cognate to Dutch wiggelen (“to wiggle”).
Pronunciation
Verb
wiggle (third-person singular simple present wiggles, present participle wiggling, simple past and past participle wiggled)
- (transitive, intransitive) To move with irregular, back and forward or side to side motions; To shake or jiggle.
Her hips wiggle as she walks.
The jelly wiggles on the plate when you move it.
1992, “Jump”, performed by Kris Kross:I'll make ya bump, hump, wiggle and shake your rump
2012, Stephen King, 11/22/63, page 788:"These modern dances!" he grunted, grabbing his smokes. "They don't do nothing but teach the kids how to bump n wiggle."
Translations
to move with irregular motions
- Bikol Central: hikol-hikol
- Bulgarian: мърдам (bg) (mǎrdam), шавам (bg) (šavam), въртя се (vǎrtja se)
- Danish: vrikke
- Dutch: wiebelen (nl)
- Esperanto: svingeti
- Finnish: tytistä, hytistä (fi), tutista (fi), hytkyä (fi), hyllyä (fi) (intransitive); hytisyttää, tutisuttaa, hytkyttää (fi) (transitive)
- French: frétiller (fr), se tortiller
- Georgian: ქნევა (kneva), ქიცინი (kicini) (especially for dog's tail)
- German: schlängeln (de), schwänzeln (de), wackeln (de), hin und her wackeln
- Hungarian: (intransitive) ficánkol (hu), ring (hu), ringatózik (hu), hullámzik (hu), (transitive) riszál (hu), csóvál (hu), mozgat (hu), ringat (hu)
- Maori: pīonioni
- Norwegian: vrikke
- Portuguese: rebolar (pt), sacolejar (pt)
- Russian: покачивать (ru) (pokačivatʹ), раскачиваться (ru) (raskačivatʹsja)
- Spanish: menear (es), contonear (es)
- Swedish: vicka (sv)
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Noun
wiggle (plural wiggles)
- A rapid movement in alternating opposite directions, not necessarily regular.
She walked with a sexy wiggle.
- (figurative) An alternating state or characteristic. (Can we add an example for this sense?)
- (in the plural) See wiggles.
Translations
Derived terms
References