twang

Reading level: hard

Estimated CEFR level: C2 — Proficiency

Estimated from word frequency; not an official CEFR classification.

Definition

  1. noun a sharp vibrating sound (as of a plucked string)
  2. noun exaggerated nasality in speech (as in some regional dialects)
  3. verb cause to sound with a twang

Etymology

Onomatopoeic. Compare Middle English twengen (“to pinch, tweak”) (whence modern English twinge), from Old English twenġan (“to pinch, twinge”); Middle English twingen (“to afflict, torment, oppress”), from Old Norse þvinga (“to weigh down, oppress”); Old English twingan (“to force, press”).

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