What does "twinge" mean?

Twinge: To affect with a sharp, sudden pain; to torment with pinching or sharp pains. The gnat . . . twinged him [the lion] till he made him tear himself, and so mastered him. L'Estrange.

Additional senses

  1. 2.To have a sudden, sharp, local pain, like a twitch; to suffer a keen, darting, or shooting pain; as, the side twinges.
  2. 3.A pinch; a tweak; a twitch. A master that gives you . . . twinges by the ears. L' Estrange.
  3. 4.A sudden sharp pain; a darting local pain of momentary continuance; as, a twinge in the arm or side. " A twinge for my own sin." Dryden.

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