Twitterpated
[TWIH-dər-pay-dəd]
Part of speech: adjective
Origin: American English, 1940s
1.
Infatuated or obsessed.
2.
In a state of nervous excitement.
Examples of Twitterpated in a sentence
"I'm twitterpated over the new collection from my favorite designer."
"The family is all twitterpated as they wait for the announcement of the new baby."
About Twitterpated
This word has nothing to do with hashtags or the company formerly known as "Twitter." "Twitterpated" is a relatively modern term for being nervously excited or even overwhelmed by a crush. "Twitter" is a 17th-century word for "excitement" and "pate" means "head." In 1940s slang, "twitterpated" described being so excited you lose your head.
Did you Know?
Thank Walt Disney for this word. In the 1942 animated classic "Bambi," the wise owl explains to Thumper and Bambi the cause of all the excitement around them: "Nearly everybody gets twitterpated in the springtime." Quite simply, when animals (and people) fall in love, they get all twitterpated.
