Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English homepage

Date: 1500-1600
Origin: Probably copying the action

twiddle

 verb
     
twid‧dle [intransitive and transitive]
1

twiddle your thumbs

informal to do nothing while you are waiting for something to happen:
Let's go - there's no point in sitting here twiddling our thumbs.
2 to move or turn something around with your fingers many times, especially because you are nervous or bored
twiddle with
She was twiddling with her earrings.
—twiddle noun [countable]
Definition from the Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English
Advanced Learner's Dictionary.

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