twice

Pronunciation

• IPA: /twaɪs/^[1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Middle English twies,^[2][3] from late inherited from Old English twiges, a variant of twiga (“two times”), twigea,^[2][3] with the adverbial genitive ending -es.^[3][2] It goes back to Proto-Germanic *twiyes, the source also of Old Frisian twia and Old Saxon twio,^[2][3] from Proto-Indo-European *dwis-, an adverbial form of Proto-Indo-European *dwo- (“two”).^[2] The final -s was voiceless, and so came to be spelled -ce, as in ice and once.^[3][4]

Earliest recorded meaning

Two times, on two occasions: Old English twiga, before 899;^[3] the form with -s is in the OED from about 1122.^[5]

Semantic evolution

“Two times as much”, “doubly”, is from 1308.^[5] Once or twice and twice or thrice for “a few times” are from before 1225.^[5] To think twice is from 1623, when “think twice, then speak” was already called an old proverb.^[5][2] Twice-told meant “counted twice” in Lydgate in the early 15th century;^[2] “told twice” is from Shakespeare's King John (1595).^[2] Twice replaced the phrase two times in nearly all its uses.^[5]

Timeline

• before 899 – Old English twiga.^[3]
• c. 1122 – twies, two times.^[5]
• before 1225 – once or twice.^[5]
• 1308 – two times as much.^[5]
• 1595 – twice-told, told twice.^[2]
• 1623 – think twice.^[5][2]

Modern meaning

Adverb

1. On two occasions; two times.
2. Twice as much; in double degree: twice as large.

Word family

• twicer
• twice-laid
• twice-told

Related words

• two
• once
• thrice
• twin
• twig
• twilight
• between

Usage notes

Nearly every use of two times can take twice instead.^[5]

References

1. ^ Jones, Daniel (2011), Cambridge English Pronouncing Dictionary, 18th ed., ed. Peter Roach, Jane Setter and John Esling, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
3. ^ a b c d e f g Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
4. ^ Pearsall, Judy, ed. (1998), The New Oxford Dictionary of English, Oxford: Clarendon Press
5. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press