Fidging

Part of speech: verb, adjective

Definitions

1. Making small restless movements, such as twitching or shifting about, usually out of impatience or nervousness
2. Moving about in a small, uneasy way, especially while sitting still or waiting for something to happen
3. Doing little restless motions with the hands or body, often showing boredom, anxiety or impatience

Etymology: "Fidging" is the present participle of "fidge", a verb meaning to fidget or move restlessly. The verb itself is probably an assibilated form of the Middle English "fiken", which meant to jitter, to move restlessly, to hustle, or to flinch. The "-dge" ending reflects the same softening of a "k" sound that turned "fiken" into "fidge", so the two words are close kin rather than separate creations. The earlier history is less settled. Some scholars link "fiken" to the Old English "befician", meaning to deceive, while others point to the Old Norse "fika", which described a spider climbing nimbly, and to Scandinavian verbs meaning to strive or hurry. These are competing suggestions, and none is certain, so the restless, quick-moving sense is the one that has stayed constant across them.