deux French · revision 16246

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=inherited|attested=2nd half of 10th century, Vie de saint Léger|origins=ine-pro *dwóh₁}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: /dø/^(Wiktionary)

+ * IPA: /dø.z‿/^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Forms==

+ '''deux''' (invariable).^(Wiktionary)^(Petit Robert 2007)

+ Old French [[m|fro|duos]] (about 980), ''dos'', ''dous'', ''deus'' (12th century), ''deux'' (13th century); subject ''dui'', ''doi''; feminine ''does'' in eastern texts.^(DHLF 1992)^(Grand Robert 2005)^(GLLF 1989) The ''x'' for ''s'' comes from confusion with words where ''-us'' was written ''x''.^(TLFi)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[inh|fro|deus]], [[inh|la|duo|alt=duōs|t=two]], the masculine accusative plural of “duo”.^(DHLF 1992)^(FEW|3, 181a)^(Bloch & Wartburg 1989)^(Wiktionary) The Old French subject form “dui”, “doi” comes from popular “*duī”, and the feminine “does” from [[m|la|duo|alt=duās]].^(DHLF 1992)^(Bloch & Wartburg 1989) “Duo” contains an Indo-European root also found in [[grc|δύο|tr=dúo]], the prefix “di-” “twice”, Latin [[m|la|bis|t=twice]], [[en|two]] and [[de|zwei]].^(DHLF 1992)^(Petit Robert 2007) Wiktionary gives [[ine-pro|*dwóh₁]].^(DHLF 1992)^(Petit Robert 2007)^(Wiktionary)

+

+ Cognate with [[ro|doi]], [[it|due]], [[oc|dos]], [[ca|dos]], [[es|dos]] and [[pt|dois]].^(Petit Robert 2007)^(Bloch & Wartburg 1989)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ The ''Vie de saint Léger'' (second half of the 10th century) has ''duos'' as a cardinal number.^(TLFi)^(DHLF 1992)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ From the first records ''deux'' was a cardinal adjective, and like other numbers it was used for a small number (''deux mots'', about 1200), a difference (''ce sont deux'', about 1245) or a multitude.^(DHLF 1992)^(TLFi) It has been an ordinal since the second half of the 17th century (''le deux mars'').^(DHLF 1992)^(GLLF 1989) As a noun for the number it is found in ''de deus en trois'' “quickly” (about 1270), now ''en moins de deux'' (1940s), and in ''certain comme deux et deux font quatre'' (1690).^(DHLF 1992)^(TLFi)

+

+ Compounds include ''deux-points'' (1690), ''deux-mâts'' (1835), ''deux-pièces'' (1952) and ''deux-roues'' (1960); [[deuxième]] dates from the 14th century.^(TLFi)^(Bloch & Wartburg 1989)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * 2nd half of 10th century – ''Duos'' in the ''Vie de saint Léger''.^(TLFi)

+ * c. 1200 – For a small number.^(TLFi)^(DHLF 1992)

+ * c. 1270 – ''De deus en trois''.^(TLFi)

+ * 14th century – ''Deuxième''.^(Bloch & Wartburg 1989)

+ * 1690 – ''Deux et deux font quatre'' in Furetière.^(TLFi)

+ * 1694 – As an ordinal.^(DHLF 1992)

+ * 1952 – ''Deux-pièces''.^(TLFi)

+

+ ==Meanings==

+ ===Numeral===

+ # [[m|en|two]]: one plus one: ''deux enfants''.^(Wiktionary)^(GLLF 1989)

+ # A few, a small number: ''à deux pas d'ici'', ''deux mots''.^(GLLF 1989)^(DHLF 1992)

+ # Second (as an ordinal): ''page deux'', ''le deux mars''.^(GLLF 1989)

+

+ ===Noun===

+ # The number two; the figure 2: ''diviser par deux''.^(GLLF 1989)^(TLFi)

+ # ''En moins de deux'': very quickly.^(DHLF 1992)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[deuxième]]

+ * [[deuxièmement]]

+ * [[entre-deux]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[double]]

+ * [[douze]]

+ * [[duo]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}