twifold

English

Alternative forms

• twyfold

Etymology

From Middle English twifold, twifald, from Old English twifeald (“double, twofold”), from Proto-West Germanic *twifald, from Proto-Germanic *twifaldaz (“twofold”), equivalent to twi- +‎ fold. Cognate with Middle High German zwivalt (“double”), Old Norse tvífaldr (“double”), Icelandic tvöfaldur (“double”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈtwaɪfəʊld/

Adjective

twifold (comparative more twifold, superlative most twifold)

1. (archaic) Twofold.

Adverb

twifold (comparative more twifold, superlative most twifold)

1. (archaic) In a twofold manner or measure.

Middle English

Alternative forms

• tuifald, tuifold, twifald, twyfold
• twifeald, twifeld (Early Middle English)

Etymology

Inherited from Old English twifeald, from Proto-West Germanic *twifald, from Proto-Germanic *twifaldaz; compare twofold.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈtwiːfɔːld/, /ˈtwifɔːld/

Adjective

twifold

1. double, twofold (having two parts)
   • 1387–1400, Geoffrey Chaucer, “The Prologue of the Chanons Yeman”, in The Canterbury Tales, [Westminster: William Caxton, published 1478], →OCLC; republished in [William Thynne], editor, The Workes of Geffray Chaucer Newlye Printed, […], [London]: […] [Richard Grafton for] Iohn Reynes […], 1542, →OCLC, folio lxiii, recto:

     Aboute the paytrel ſtode the fome ful hye
     He [the hors] was of fome as flecked sa a pye
     A male twyfolde on his croper lay
     It ſemed that he caryed lytel aray

     The foam stood high on the poitrel
     He [the horse] was as speckled as a pie with foam
     A twofold satchel lay on his crupper
     It seemed he was dressed lightly

2. wavering, uncertain
3. insincere, dissimulating
4. (rare) Folded in two.

Descendants

• English: twifold (archaic)

References

• “twī̆fōld, adj.”, in MED Online, Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan, 2007.