twitch (v.)

约1400年， erþe-worme，是 Lumbricidae 家族的蠕虫的通俗名称，源自 earth 和 worm（名词）。在这个意义上，古英语中有 eorðmata，也有 regnwyrm，字面意思是“雨虫”。古英语还有 angel-twæcce “用作鱼饵的蚯蚓”（第二个元素来自 twitch 的词根），有时在中世纪被用作药物：

For the blake Jawndes take angylltwacches, er þei go in to the erth in the mornynge and fry hem. Take ix or x small angyltwacches, and bray hem, and giff the syke to drynke fastynge, with stale ale, but loke þat thei bene grounden so small that þe syke may nat se, ne witt what it is, for lothynge. [Book of Medical Recipes in Medical Society of London Library, c. 1450]

对于黑色颌部疾病，取一些蚯蚓，在它们早晨进入土壤之前煮熟。取九或十只小蚯蚓，捣碎，让病人空腹喝下，用陈酿的麦芽酒，但要确保它们磨得很碎，病人不能看到，也不能知道它是什么，以免引起反感。[伦敦医学协会图书馆的医学食谱书，约1450年]

The people who inhabit the highlands of Southern Brazil have a firm belief in the existence of a gigantic earthworm fifty yards or more in length, five in breadth, covered with bones as with a coat-of-mail, and of such strength as to be able to uproot great pine-trees as though they were blades of grass, and to throw up such quantities of clay in making its way underground as to dam up streams and divert them into new courses. This redoubtable monster is known as the "Minhocao." [Popular Science, August 1878]

巴西南部高地居民坚信存在一种巨大的蚯蚓，长度可达五十码或更长，宽度为五码，身上长满了骨头，如同穿着一件铠甲，力量强大到能够像割草一样连根拔起大松树，并在地下行进时搅动大量的泥土，堵塞溪流并改变其流向。这个可怕的怪物被称为“Minhocao”。[《大众科学》杂志，1878年8月]

"掐，拔，扭"，通常指鼻子，大约在1600年左右，可能来自中古英语 twikken "拉，拽，拔"（15世纪中期），源于古英语 twiccian "拔"，起源不明； 也许与 twitch 有关。意思是"进行微调"，始见于1966年。相关词汇： Tweaked； tweaking。