twain
No English definition recorded for this entry.
L28988 on Wikidata ↗noun
No English definition recorded for this entry.
L329744 on Wikidata ↗Wiktionary
Pronunciation: /tweɪn/ / [tʰw̥eɪn]
adj
Etymology: Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *dwóh₁der. Proto-Germanic *twai Proto-West Germanic *twai-der. Old English twēġen Middle English tweyne English twain PIE word *dwóh₁ From Middle English tweyne, tweien, twaine, from Old English twēġen m (“two”), from Proto-West Germanic *twai-, from Proto-Germanic *twai, from Proto-Indo-European *dwóh₁. Cognate with Saterland Frisian twäin, Low German twene, German zween. More at two. The word outlasted the breakdown of gender in Middle English and survived as a secondary form of two, then especially in the cases where the numeral follows a noun. Its continuation into modern times was aided by its use in KJV, the Marriage Service, in poetry (where it is commonly used as a rhyme word), and in oral use where it is necessary to be clear that two and not to or too is meant.
- twofold
name
Etymology: From twain, in reference to a line in Rudyard Kipling's poem The Ballad of East and West: "never the twain shall meet". This was chosen to reflect the difficulty, at the time, of connecting scanners and personal computers.
- A standard software protocol and applications programming interface (API) that regulates communication between software applications and imaging devices such as scanners and digital cameras.
noun
Etymology: Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *dwóh₁der. Proto-Germanic *twai Proto-West Germanic *twai-der. Old English twēġen Middle English tweyne English twain PIE word *dwóh₁ From Middle English tweyne, tweien, twaine, from Old English twēġen m (“two”), from Proto-West Germanic *twai-, from Proto-Germanic *twai, from Proto-Indo-European *dwóh₁. Cognate with Saterland Frisian twäin, Low German twene, German zween. More at two. The word outlasted the breakdown of gender in Middle English and survived as a secondary form of two, then especially in the cases where the numeral follows a noun. Its continuation into modern times was aided by its use in KJV, the Marriage Service, in poetry (where it is commonly used as a rhyme word), and in oral use where it is necessary to be clear that two and not to or too is meant.
- Pair, couple.
“The susceptible twain, on the search for adventure, dropped in.”
“The twain immediately proffered their companionship. ‘I will come with you,’ said Mr Lessingham. ‘And I,’ echoed Sydney.”
num
Etymology: Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *dwóh₁der. Proto-Germanic *twai Proto-West Germanic *twai-der. Old English twēġen Middle English tweyne English twain PIE word *dwóh₁ From Middle English tweyne, tweien, twaine, from Old English twēġen m (“two”), from Proto-West Germanic *twai-, from Proto-Germanic *twai, from Proto-Indo-European *dwóh₁. Cognate with Saterland Frisian twäin, Low German twene, German zween. More at two. The word outlasted the breakdown of gender in Middle English and survived as a secondary form of two, then especially in the cases where the numeral follows a noun. Its continuation into modern times was aided by its use in KJV, the Marriage Service, in poetry (where it is commonly used as a rhyme word), and in oral use where it is necessary to be clear that two and not to or too is meant.
- two
“But the warm twilight round us twain will never rise again.”
“Bring me these twain cups of wine and water, and let us drink from the one we feel more befitting of this day.”
verb
Etymology: From Middle English twaynen, from twayne (“two”, numeral) (see Etymology 1 above).
- To part in twain; divide; sunder.