twistle

twistle · noun¹

1. Proto-Indo-European · derived from*dwis-“twice, in two”
2. Proto-Germanic · inherited from*twisilą“fork, bifurcation”
3. Old English · inherited fromtwisla“confluence, junction, fork of a river or road”
4. Middle English · inherited fromtwisel
5. English todaytwistle

Alteration of twissel (literally “double, forked”), from Middle English twisel, twisil, from Old English twisla (“confluence, junction, fork of a river or road”), from Proto-Germanic *twisilą (“fork, bifurcation”), from Proto-Indo-European *dwis- (“twice, in two”). Cognate with German Zwiesel (“fork”). Compare also Icelandic kvísl (“branch, a fork; fork of a river”).

twistle · verb, noun²

Related to twist.

Words from the same roots