| 释义 |
twit·ter
I. \ˈtwid.ə(r), -itə-\ verb
(twittered ; twittered ; twittering \-id.əriŋ, -itər-, -i.tr-\ ; twitters)
Etymology: Middle English twiteren; akin to Old High German zwizzirōn to twitter, chirp; both of imitative origin
intransitive verb
1. : to utter the successive chirping notes of a bird : make a bird's continuing small noises
< birds twittered in the trees >
2.
a. : to chatter in light inconsequential fashion : talk busily of small or negligible things
< a home filled with twittering gentlewomen — Times Literary Supplement >
b. : to laugh a light or silly laugh : giggle, titter
3. : to tremble with agitation : flutter, quiver
< held up the amulet in a hand that twittered — Strand Magazine >
transitive verb
1. : to chirp out (as a bird's small noises)
2. : to shake rapidly back and forth : flutter
< raised his right hand above his head and twittered his fingers — Literary Review >
II. noun
(-s)
1. : a trembling agitation : a pitch of wild excitement : quiver
< your father's being so bent on it sets me all in a twitter — W.D.Howells >
2. : the chirping sounds of birds
3. : a light chattering : gabble
< the twitter of the sportscasters and sports reporters — Harper's >
III. noun
(-s)
Etymology: probably from English dialect twitter pus, quittor, alteration of quitter (I) & quittor
1. : the refuse of the case of a sperm whale after the oil is pressed out
2. : the thick tough tissue lining the case of a sperm whale |