Wiggles

Part of speech: verb

Definitions

1. To make rapid, small movements in a twisting or undulating fashion, often causing a playful or lively effect
2. To perform quick, slight, and twisting motions that may be expressive or entertaining in nature
3. To shift or move with quick, slight turns or bends that create a lively or restless effect

Etymology: "Wiggles" is the third-person singular form of "wiggle," so the story belongs to the verb itself. The verb descends from Middle English "wiglen," which likely came from Middle Dutch "wigelen," and probably from Middle Low German "wigelen" as well. Its root is the verb "wiegen," meaning "to rock," which is the same family as "wiege," the word for "cradle." A wiggle, in other words, began as the gentle back-and-forth motion of rocking a baby to sleep. The sense of rocking to and fro carried over into the idea of small, repeated side-to-side movements. The verb is a frequentative, meaning it describes a repeated or intensified form of the basic action, so a wiggle is essentially a little rocking motion repeated over and over. Modern Dutch "wiggelen" and Low German "wiggeln" preserve the same idea, which tells us the word was already shared across the Low Countries and northern Germany.

Synonyms: sways, twists, wiggles, shimmies, jiggles

Antonyms: stills, calms, settles, quiets, stabilizes