Fidgets

Part of speech: verb

Definitions

1. To engage in restless motion through minor adjustments of the body or limbs that typically indicate unease or impatience
2. To move slightly and nervously, often showing anxiety or impatience
3. To shift or twitch in a subtle and uneasy way, usually due to discomfort or boredom

Etymology: "Fidgets" is the third-person singular present form of "fidget," so it describes someone who squirms, shifts, or twitches out of restlessness or unease. The verb "fidget" grows from an older verb "fidge," meaning to move restlessly or to fidget, and the ending "-et" was added to it. That ending is a frequentative suffix, meaning it marks repeated or continued action, so "fidget" describes small movements repeated again and again. The suffix may trace back to a Middle English form, "-ten," itself descended from the Old English ending "-ettan," which appears in many verbs of repeated action.

Synonyms: twitches, squirms

Antonyms: calms, settles