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 *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.
- (aviation) A two-engine aircraft.
- (crystallography) A twin crystal.
SynonymsEdit
Derived termsEdit
TranslationsEdit
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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).
- Reading, the English town, is twinned with Clonmel in Ireland.
- Coventry twinned with Dresden as an act of peace and reconciliation, both cities having been heavily bombed during the war.
- 1847, Alfred Tennyson, The Princess: A Medley, London: Edward Moxon, […], OCLC 2024748, part 1:
- Still we moved / Together, twinned, as horse's ear and eye.
- (intransitive) To be paired or suited.
- (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.”
- (intransitive, obsolete) To be born at the same birth.
- c. 1605–1608, William Shakespeare, “The Life of Tymon of Athens”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies: Published According to the True Originall Copies (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, OCLC 606515358, [Act 1, scene 3]:
- Twinn'd brothers of one womb
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
SynonymsEdit
- (forming a matched pair): twofold; see also Thesaurus:dual
Derived termsEdit
TranslationsEdit
Further readingEdit
- twin in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, G. & C. Merriam, 1913.
- twin in The Century Dictionary, New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., 1911.
- twin at OneLook Dictionary Search
AnagramsEdit
Old EnglishEdit
PronunciationEdit
AdjectiveEdit
twin
- Alternative form of twinn