twitch1 (twich)

[ His swerde anon out of his she the he twyghte . Chaucer , Troilus, iv. 1185. My cap 's quite gone: where the villain twitched it, I don't know. Mi Burney , Evelina, xxxiv. Saint Praxed in a glory, and one Pan Ready to twitch the nymph's last garment off. Browning, The Bishop Orders his Tomb. 2. To give a short, sudden pull or tug at; jerk at; cause to move quickly or spasmodically. Petit-André, slapping the other shoulder, called out, "Courage, my fair son! since you must begin the dance, let the ball open gaily, for all the rebecs are in tune," twitching the halter at the same time, to give point to his joke. Scott , Quentin Durward, vi. 3. To nip; squeeze; make fast; tie tightly. Hall i well. [Prov. Eng.] Be the neck sche hym twyghte, And let hym hange all nyghte. 6557 These twitches of Conscience argue there are some quick touches left of the sence of good and evil. Stilling fleet , Sermons, I. ii. 3t. A pair of nippers or tweezers. Take therefore a twich of silver, and therewith lift up subtilly the ungle from the tunicle, proceeding to the lach where grew, and there cut it away. Bar rough's Method of Physick (1624). ( Nares .) 4. A noose attached to a stock or handle and twisted around the upper lip of a horse so as to bring him under command when shoeing or clipping: an instrument used for holding a vicious horse.-5. In mining , a sudden narrow ing of a vein so that the walls come nearly or quite together. [North. Eng.] twitch2 (twich), v. A dialectal variant of touch. Hall i well .