Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary · 1913

Twitch

Twitch , transitive verb

[Old English twicchen, from (doubtful) Anglo-Saxon twiccian; akin to Anglo-Saxon angeltwicca a worm used for bait, literally, a hook twitcher, LG. twikken to tweak, German zwicken. Compare Tweak.]

To pull with a sudden jerk; to pluck with a short, quick motion; to snatch; as, to twitch one by the sleeve; to twitch a thing out of another's hand; to twitch off clusters of grapes.
Thrice they twitched the diamond in her ear. — Pope

Twitch , noun

1.
The act of twitching; a pull with a jerk; a short, sudden, quick pull; as, a twitch by the sleeve.
2.
A short, spastic contraction of the fibers or muscles; a simple muscular contraction; as, convulsive twitches; a twitch in the side.
3.
(Farriery) A stick with a hole in one end through which passes a loop, which can be drawn tightly over the upper lip or an ear of a horse. By twisting the stick the compression is made sufficiently painful to keep the animal quiet during a slight surgical operation. — J. H. Walsh