Meaning

noun a sudden muscle spasm; especially one caused by a nervous condition

verb make an uncontrolled, short, jerky motion

verb move with abrupt, seemingly uncontrolled motions

originFrom Middle English twicchen, from Old English *twiċċan, from Proto-West Germanic *twikkijan (“to nail, pin, fasten, clasp, pinch”). Cognate with English tweak, Low German twikken, German Low German twicken (“to pinch, pinch off”), zweckōn and gizwickan (> German zwicken (“to pinch”)).

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 3.0