The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language: Fourth Edition. 2000. |
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Appendix I
Indo-European Roots |
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ENTRY: | terkw- |
DEFINITION: | To twist. 1. Possible variant (metathesized) form *twerk-. a. queer, from Middle Low German dwer, oblique; b. thwart, from Old Norse thverr, transverse. Both a and b from Germanic *thwerh-, twisted, oblique. 2. Suffixed (causative) o-grade form *torkw-eyo-. torch, torment, torque1, torque2, torsade, torsion, tort, tortuous, torture, truss; contort, distort, extort, nasturtium, retort1, torticollis, from Latin torqure, to twist. (Pokorny terk- 1077.) |
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The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition. Copyright © 2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by the Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved. |
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