Twit

Part of speech: noun

Pronunciation: /twɪt/

Definitions

1. A person showing naivety or whimsy can be called this
2. An individual who acts foolishly or lacks seriousness can be described as this
3. A person who behaves in a ridiculous or unintelligent way

Etymology: The noun "twit" is a clipping of a bird's name, not a bird at all: its verb ancestor is the Old English "ætwītan," meaning to blame or reproach. The verb survived in English as "atwite," and by dropping its opening syllable it became "twite," which shrank to "twit." Its earliest sense was "to taunt or reproach someone," the reproach that gives the word its sting. The noun is thought to have grown out of that verb, though it appears in print somewhat earlier than the verb's clipped form would suggest, so the exact pathway is not fully settled. Its later meaning of a foolish or silly person is a lighter, almost playful descendant of the old sense of rebuking someone. The bird connection comes from a different route. The verb "twit" is sometimes linked to the sound of birds, and the word "twitter" describes that chirping. "Twit" as a short form of "twitter" is a separate clipping, so the modern noun has more than one ancestry, and the older reproach sense is the one that explains its meaning.

Synonyms: fool, idiot, dunce, nincompoop, simpleton

Antonyms: genius, intellect, savant