What does twerk mean

From the Editors at Merriam-Webster. Style: MLA. Get Word of the Day daily email! Test Your Vocabulary. Test your knowledge - and maybe learn something along the way.

Love words? Need even more definitions? Just between us: it's complicated. Ask the Editors 'Everyday' vs. What Is 'Semantic Bleaching'? The vigorously shaking of your Gluteus Maximus. That ratchet knows how to twerk. Imagine that your butt has epilepsy and was exposed to too many flashing lights.

What is twerking? An epileptic ass. Redneck : To get something done. The word "twerk" - a dance move popularised by singer Miley Cyrus - actually dates back to , according to the Oxford English Dictionary. Researchers found the word, one of new dictionary entries, was first used in , spelt twirk, to refer to a twisting or jerking movement or twitch. The verb is believed to have emerged later in and the twerk spelling was used by , the dictionary says.

Cyrus performed the raunchy dance move at an MTV awards show in The dictionary describes twerking as dancing "in a sexually provocative manner, using thrusting movements of the bottom and hips while in a low, squatting stance". It says the word in its current form has its roots in the early s New Orleans "bounce" music scene, but the exact origin of twerk is uncertain.

Twerk may have been a blend of the words twist or twitch and jerk, the dictionary says. Fiona McPherson, senior editor of Oxford English Dictionary, said: "We are confident that it is the same origins as the dance. I think it's quite spectacular, the early origins for it.