twin
EnglishEdit
Alternative formsEdit
- twynne (obsolete)
PronunciationEdit
Etymology 1Edit
From Middle English twinne, twynne, from Old English ġetwin, ġetwinn (“twin, multiple”, noun) and twinn (“twin, two-fold, double, two by two”, adjective), from Proto-Germanic *twinjaz, *twinaz (“two each”), from Proto-Indo-European *dwino- (“twin”), from Proto-Indo-European *dwóh₁ (“two”). Cognate with Scots twyn (“twin”), Dutch tweeling (“twin”), German Zwilling (“twin”), Swedish tvilling (“twin”), Faroese tvinnur (“a double set”), Icelandic tvenna (“duo, pair”), Lithuanian dvynys (“twin”), Russian двойня (dvojnja, “twin”).
NounEdit
twin (plural twins)
- Either of two people (or, less commonly, animals) who shared the same uterus at the same time; one who was born at the same birth as a sibling.
- Either of two similar or closely related objects, entities etc.
- A room in a hotel, guesthouse, etc. with two beds; a twin room.
- (US) A twin size mattress or a bed designed for such a mattress.
- (crystallography) A twin crystal.
SynonymsEdit
Derived termsEdit
TranslationsEdit
See alsoEdit
- twyndyllyng
- (hotel room): single, double
- twain
VerbEdit
twin (third-person singular simple present twins, present participle twinning, simple past and past participle twinned)
- (transitive, obsolete outside Scotland) To separate, divide.
- (intransitive, obsolete outside Scotland) To split, part; to go away, depart.
- (usually in the passive) To join, unite; to form links between (now especially of two places in different countries).
- Placetown in England is twinned with Machinville in France.
- For example, Coventry twinned with Dresden as an act of peace and reconciliation, both cities having been heavily bombed during the war.
- Tennyson
- Still we moved / Together, twinned, as horse's ear and eye.
- (intransitive) To give birth to twins.
- 1874, Thomas Hardy, Far from the Madding Crowd
- “I’ve run to tell ye,” said the junior shepherd, supporting his exhausted youthful frame against the doorpost, “that you must come directly. Two more ewes have twinned — that’s what’s the matter, Shepherd Oak.”
- 1874, Thomas Hardy, Far from the Madding Crowd
- (intransitive, obsolete) To be born at the same birth.
- (Can we find and add a quotation of Shakespeare to this entry?)
See alsoEdit
Etymology 2Edit
From Middle English *twin, *twyn, from Old English twin, twinn (“twin; double”, adjective), from Proto-Germanic *twīhnaz (“occurring in a pair; twofold; double”), from Proto-Indo-European *dwóh₁ (“two”). Cognate with Icelandic tvennur (“double”), Gothic 𐍄𐍅𐌴𐌹𐌷𐌽𐌰𐌹 (tweihnai, “two each”).
AdjectiveEdit
twin (not comparable)
- double; dual; occurring as a matching pair
- twin beds, twin socks
- forming a pair of twins.
- the twin boys
Derived termsEdit
TranslationsEdit
Further readingEdit
- twin in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, G. & C. Merriam, 1913
- twin in The Century Dictionary, The Century Co., New York, 1911
- twin at OneLook Dictionary Search