twee Dutch · revision 37199

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=inherited|attested=222–235, in the name Tuihanti (Twente)|origins=ine-pro *dwóh₁}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * /tʋeː/^(Wiktionary)

+ * Belgium: [tʋeː]^(Wiktionary)

+ * Netherlands: [tʋeɪ̯]^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Forms==

+ '''twee''' (numeral; as a noun ''de twee'', plural ''tweeën'', diminutive ''tweetje'')^(Wiktionary)

+ Middle Dutch kept the inflected genitive ''tweer'' and dative ''tween'' for a long time.^(EWN) The old masculine ''twene'' is rare and occurs mainly when the numeral stands alone.^(VMNW)^(MNW) Some dialects, among them those of Goeree-Overflakkee and Maastricht, have a form matching the Gothic masculine rather than the neuter.^(WNT)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[inh|dum|twee]], [[inh|odt|twē]], [[inh|gmw-pro|*twai-]], [[inh|gem-pro|*twai]], [[inh|ine-pro|*dwóh₁|t=two]].^(EWN)^(Wiktionary)^(Kroonen 2013) The numeral was inflected for gender and case: for West Germanic the nominative and accusative are reconstructed as masculine ⟨twēne⟩, feminine ⟨twā⟩ and neuter ⟨twē⟩, a division still visible but no longer kept consistently in Old Dutch.^(EWN)^(Köbler ANFRK) Middle Dutch generalised the neuter, while the old masculine survives in [[twintig]].^(EWN)^(Franck & Van Wijk 1912)^(De Vries & De Tollenaere 2004|394)

+

+ The same numeral is [[osx|twēne]], [[goh|zwēne]] (neuter [[m|goh|zwei]], modern [[de|zwei]]), [[ofs|twēne]] (modern [[fy|twa]]), [[ang|twēgen]] (modern [[en|two]]), [[non|tveir]] and [[got|𐍄𐍅𐌰𐌹|tr=twai]].^(EWN)^(Kroonen 2013)^(De Vries 1971) Outside Germanic it is [[la|duo]], [[grc|δύο|tr=dúo]], [[lt|dù]] and [[sga|dáu]].^(EWN)^(Van Veen & Van der Sijs 1997)^(De Vries 1971) The Indo-European word was a dual, and Germanic remodelled its endings on those of the pronouns.^(De Vries 1971)^(Franck & Van Wijk 1912)^(De Vries & De Tollenaere 2004|394)

+

+ A root variant ⟨*dui-⟩ appears in compounds and derivatives: Germanic ⟨*twi-⟩ in [[twist]] and [[tussen]], [[m|la|bi-]] and [[m|grc|δι-|tr=di-]], and another variant ⟨*duei⟩ in [[twijfel]] and [[twijg]].^(EWN)^(De Vries 1971)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ The name of Twente is recorded as ''Tuihanti'' in a Latin inscription of 222–235, literally “two sides, two parts”, but that form still counts as West Germanic.^(EWN)^(Van Veen & Van der Sijs 1997)^(Van der Sijs 2001) In Old Dutch the Wachtendonck Psalms (10th century) have ''tuene thia gehorda ik'', “I heard two things”.^(EWN)^(ONW) Middle Dutch ''twe'' glosses Latin ''duo'' around 1240.^(VMNW)^(De Vries & De Tollenaere 2004|394)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ Middle Dutch used ''twee'' both on its own and with a noun, in pairings such as ''twee ende twee'' “two by two”, and in vague counts such as ''en par tortelduuen ochte twe'', “a turtle-dove or two”, the source of modern ''een stuk of twee''.^(VMNW) From 1503 ''twee of drie'' expresses an approximate number.^(WNT) The numeral could strengthen a word for something worthless, as in ''twee nieten in een bodemloos mandje'' (1617), “two blanks in a bottomless basket”.^(WNT)

+

+ Stoett finds ''met twee maten meten'', to judge alike cases differently, only from the 19th century.^(Stoett 1923) ''Twee onder één kap'', a pair of houses under one roof, appears among late 20th-century neologisms.^(De Coster 1999) In mild oaths ''twee'' stands in for French ''Dieu'', as in ''nondetwee''.^(Van Sterkenburg 2001)

+

+ The numeral passed into Negerhollands, Berbice Dutch, Skepi Dutch and Sranan Tongo, into the Trió language of Suriname, and into Buginese and Makassarese as ''tûwi'', a pair of identical cards in a Chinese card game.^(Van der Sijs 2010)^(Wiktionary) Afrikaans has [[m|af|twee]].^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * 222–235 – The name ''Tuihanti'' (Twente) appears in a Latin inscription.^(EWN)^(Van der Sijs 2001)

+ * 901–1000 – Old Dutch ''tuene'' appears in the Wachtendonck Psalms.^(EWN)^(Van Veen & Van der Sijs 1997)

+ * 1027–1054 – The region name is written ''Tuente''.^(EWN)^(ONW)

+ * 1181 – The Zeeland place name ''Tuagemet'' “two measures (of land)” is recorded.^(ONW)^(EWN)

+ * c. 1240 – Middle Dutch ''twe'' is recorded in Limburg.^(VMNW)

+ * 1503 – ''Twee of drie'' is used for a rough number.^(WNT)

+ * 19th century – ''Met twee maten meten'' comes into use.^(Stoett 1923)

+

+ ==Meanings==

+ ===Numeral===

+ # [[m|en|two]], one more than one: ''op elkaar lijken als twee druppels water'', to be as alike as two peas.^(Van Dale 2014)^(Wiktionary)

+ # Second in a series: ''hoofdstuk twee''.^(Van Dale 2014)^(WikiWoordenboek)

+

+ ===Noun===

+ # The figure 2.^(Van Dale 2014)^(WikiWoordenboek)

+ # A pair, a group of two; in rowing ''twee zonder'', a boat for two without a [[m|en|coxswain|alt=cox]].^(Van Dale 2014)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[tweede]]

+ * [[tweeling]]

+ * [[tweetal]]

+ * [[tweemaal]]

+ * [[ontwee]]

+ * [[getweeën]]

+ * [[tweedracht]]

+ * [[tweespalt]]

+ * [[tweesprong]]

+ * [[tweeklank]]

+ * [[tweekamp]]

+ * [[tweehuizig]]

+ * [[tweedelig]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[twintig]]

+ * [[twist]]

+ * [[tussen]]

+ * [[twijfel]]

+ * [[twijg]]

+ * [[en|two]]

+ * [[de|zwei]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}