Twist \Twist\, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Twisted; p. pr. & vb. n.
Twisting.]
[OE. twisten, AS. twist a rope, as made of two
(twisted) strands, fr. twi- two; akin to D. twist a quarrel,
dissension, G. zwist, Dan. & Sw. tvist, Icel. twistr the
deuce in cards, tvistr distressed. See Twice, Two.]
1. To contort; to writhe; to complicate; to crook spirally;
to convolve.
Twist it into a serpentine form. --Pope.
2. Hence, to turn from the true form or meaning; to pervert;
as, to twist a passage cited from an author.
3. To distort, as a solid body, by turning one part
relatively to another about an axis passing through both;
to subject to torsion; as, to twist a shaft.
4. To wreathe; to wind; to encircle; to unite by intertexture
of parts. ``Longing to twist bays with that ivy.''
--Waller.
There are pillars of smoke twisted about wreaths of
flame. --T. Burnet.
5. To wind into; to insinuate; -- used reflexively; as,
avarice twists itself into all human concerns.
6. To unite by winding one thread, strand, or other flexible
substance, round another; to form by convolution, or
winding separate things round each other; as, to twist
yarn or thread. --Shak.
7. Hence, to form as if by winding one part around another;
to wreathe; to make up.
Was it not to this end That thou began'st to twist
so fine a story? --Shak.
8. To form into a thread from many fine filaments; as, to
twist wool or cotton.
Source: Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913)
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