twine
verbEtymology From Middle English twinen, twynen, from Old English *twīnian (“to twine, thread”), from Proto-Germanic *twiznōną (“to thread”), from Proto-Indo-European *dwisnós (“double”), from Proto-Indo-European *dwóh₁ (“two”). Cognate with Dutch twijnen (“to twine, contort, throw”), Danish tvinde (“to twist”), Swedish tvinna (“to twist, twine, throw”), Icelandic tvinna (“to merge, twine”).
9 senses
- 1To weave together.
- 2To wind, as one thread around another, or as any…
- 3To wind about; to embrace; to entwine.
- 4To mutually twist together; to become mutually involved…
- 5To wind; to bend; to make turns; to meander.
- 6To ascend in spiral lines about a support; to climb spirally.
- 7To turn round; to revolve.
- 8To change the direction of.
- 9To mingle; to mix.
To weave together.
To wind, as one thread around another, or as any flexible substance around another body.
- Let me twine Mine arms about that body […]c. 1608–1609 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Tragedy of Coriolanus”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act IV, scene v]:
- She was twining her fingers together.1931, Dashiell Hammett, chapter 10, in The Glass Key, New York: Vintage, published 1972, page 199:
To wind about; to embrace; to entwine.
- “Let wreaths of triumph now my temples twine,” The victor cried, “the glorious prize is mine! […]”1712 May, [Alexander Pope], “The Rape of the Locke. An Heroi-comical Poem.”, in Miscellaneous Poems and Translations. […], London: […] Bernard Lintott […], →OCLC, canto III:
To mutually twist together; to become mutually involved; to intertwine.
- Usually some old crone was squatted on the earth floor, weaving cedar fibre or tatters of old cloth into a mat, her claw-like fingers twining in and out, in and out, among the strands that were fastened to a crude frame of sticks.1941, Emily Carr, chapter 1, in Klee Wyck:
To wind; to bend; to make turns; to meander.
- As rivers, though they bend and twine, Still to the sea their course incline:1713, Jonathan Swift, Cadenus and Vanessa:
To ascend in spiral lines about a support; to climb spirally.
- Many plants twine.
Obsolete To turn round; to revolve.
- dancers twine midst cedar-fragrant glades1598, George Chapman, Hero and Leander:
Obsolete To change the direction of.
- For where he turned his sword, or twined his steed, He slew, or man and beast on earth down laid,1600, Torquato Tasso, translated by Edward Fairfax, Jerusalem Delivered, published 1581, Book 20, Stanza 38:
Obsolete To mingle; to mix.
- As lumpes of sugar loose themselues, and twine Their subtile essence with the soul of wine.1646, Richard Crashaw, M. Crashaw’s Answer for Hope, lines 29–30: