Fidges

Part of speech: verb

Definitions

1. Moves about restlessly or makes small nervous motions, unable to keep still for long
2. Shifts and wriggles in an uneasy, impatient way, as though unable to settle
3. Twitches or fusses with something repeatedly out of nervousness or boredom

Etymology: "Fidges" is the third-person singular present of "fidge", a verb meaning to move restlessly or fidget. The verb is probably an assibilated form of the Middle English "fiken", which meant to jitter, hustle, flinch or hurry away. That older verb may be tied to the Old English "befician", meaning to deceive, though the link is uncertain, or to the Old Norse "fika", which described a spider climbing up nimbly. Scandinavian cousins such as Norwegian and Swedish "fika" carry the sense of striving or hurrying after something. The story is one of a sound softened over time. The "k" in "fiken" shifted toward a "j"-like sound, giving "fidge" its hissing finish, and the sense narrowed from quick, hasty movement to the small, unconscious twitching we now associate with the word.

Synonyms: fidget, twitch, squirm, wriggle, jiggle

Antonyms: keep still, be still