[He] shrunk at first sight of it; he found fault with the length, the
thickness, and the twist.
Arbuthnot.
3. That which is formed by twisting, convoluting, or uniting parts.
Specifically: —
(a) A cord, thread, or anything flexible, formed by winding strands or
separate things round each other.
(b) A kind of closely twisted, strong sewing silk, used by tailors,
saddlers, and the like.
(c) A kind of cotton yarn, of several varieties.
(d) A roll of twisted dough, baked.
(e) A little twisted roll of tobacco.
(f) (Weaving) One of the threads of a warp, — usually more tightly
twisted than the filling.
(g) (Firearms) A material for gun barrels, consisting of iron and steel
twisted and welded together; as, Damascus twist.
(h) (Firearms & Ord.) The spiral course of the rifling of a gun barrel
or a cannon.
(i) A beverage made of brandy and gin. [Slang]
4. [OE.; — so called as being a two-forked branch. See Twist, v. t.] A
twig. [Obs.] Chaucer. Fairfax.
Gain twist, or Gaining twist (Firearms), twist of which the pitch is
less, and the inclination greater, at the muzzle than at the breech. —
Twist drill, a drill the body of which is twisted like that of an
auger. See Illust. of Drill. — Uniform twist (Firearms), a twist of
which the spiral course has an equal pitch throughout.
Twist"e (?), obs. imp. of Twist. Chaucer.
Twist"ed, a. Contorted; crooked spirally; subjected to torsion; hence,
perverted.
Twisted curve (Geom.), a curve of double curvature. See Plane curve,
under Curve. — Twisted surface (Geom.), a surface described by a
straight line moving according to any law whatever, yet so that the
consecutive positions of the line shall not be in one plane; a warped
surface.
Twist"er (?), n. 1. One who twists; specifically, the person whose
occupation is to twist or join the threads of one warp to those of
another, in weaving.