Twige

Part of speech: verb, noun

Definitions

1. An archaic variant of twig, referring to a slender shoot or small branch growing from a tree or bush
2. An obsolete form of the word twig, meaning a thin, flexible branch or sprig of a woody plant
3. A old spelling of twig for a fine, pliant shoot springing from the limb or stem of a tree or shrub

Etymology: In Middle English, "twige" was one of several spellings of the noun now written "twig," a small branch or shoot of a tree. Its ancestor was the Old English "twigu," a feminine noun whose root reaches back to Proto-Germanic ""twigō." The same root appears in Dutch "twijg" and German "Zweig," which still mean a twig or branch. Many etymologists connect this root to the Indo-European ""dwis-," meaning "twice" or "in two," which would make a twig a shoot that splits or forks from a larger stem. That link is plausible but not firmly established, so it is best treated as a suggestion rather than settled fact.