Tweeting

/ˈtwiːtɪŋ/ verb

Definition

Posting short messages or opinions on social media, or the sound a bird makes with its voice.

Etymology

From Middle English 'tweten,' imitating bird sounds. Originally onomatopoetic, it described the high chirping sounds of birds. The social media meaning was deliberately chosen for Twitter's name to evoke the idea of short messages like bird chirps.

Kelly Says

Twitter's founder deliberately chose the bird name because tweets are supposed to be short like a bird's chirp, which is why early tweets were limited to just 140 characters!

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