Etymology Explorer › English

Where does “twitter” come from?

Twitter descends from Middle English twitren, Old English twiterian, and Proto-Germanic twitwizōną, a word of imitative origin depicting rapid, tremulous movement or sound.

twitter (English): The sound of a succession of chirps as uttered by...

Definitions

  1. The sound of a succession of chirps as uttered by...

Ancestry of “twitter”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Middle Englishtwitren—
2Old Englishtwiterian—
3Proto-GermanictwitwizōnąTo twitter; chirp

Words derived from “twitter”

  • Twitter
  • atwitter
  • twittery
  • twitterer
  • Twitterbot
  • Twitterverse
  • Twittersphere
  • Twittermob
  • Twitterer
  • Twitterdom
  • twittersome
  • Twitterable
  • Твиттер
  • Twitter
  • ツイッター
  • ทวิตเตอร์
  • توییتر
Every word from Proto-Germanic twitwizōną →