twin English · revision 5871

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=inherited|attested=c. 1000}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: /twɪn/^(Roach et al. 2011)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is Middle English twin, [[inh|ang|twinn|t=twofold, double]], with the noun from Old English getwinn, getwinnas “twins”,^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988)^(Hoad 1986) from [[gem-pro|*twisnaz]],^(Hoad 1986)^(Etymonline) which also gave Old Norse tvinnr, tvennr “double”, Old High German zwiniling “twin” and Dutch tweeling,^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline)^(MWU 2024) from PIE *dwisno-, from *dwi- “double”, from the root [[ine-pro|*dwo-|t=two]];^(Etymonline)^(Hoad 1986) Latin bini “two each” is a cognate.^(Etymonline) See [[two]] and [[twi-]].^(Cresswell 2021)^(Barnhart 1988)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ As an adjective, “consisting of two, twofold”: about 1000 in the OED and Barnhart.^(OED 1989)^(Barnhart 1988) One of two children born at one birth is from about 1300 in Middle English, before 1200 as itwinn,^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988) and as Old English getwinnas.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ By the late 14th century twin was used of animals and of the constellation [[Gemini]], the Twins.^(Etymonline) The adjective “born at the same birth” is first in Shakespeare's ''Comedy of Errors'' (1590),^(Barnhart 1988)^(OED 1989) and “forming a pair, closely associated” from 1591.^(OED 1989)^(Barnhart 1988) A pair linked by resemblance is by the 1580s.^(Etymonline) Minneapolis and Saint Paul have been the Twin Cities since 1883.^(Etymonline) The Middle English verb mostly meant the opposite, to part or separate, from about 1225, on the notion of making two out of one,^(Etymonline)^(OED 1989) a sense that survives in Scots.^(SOED 2002) To give birth to twins is from about 1395,^(Barnhart 1988) and to join closely or couple from the late 14th century.^(Etymonline) The pairing of towns in different countries is a 20th-century British use.^(SOED 2002)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * c. 1000 – twofold, double.^(OED 1989)^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * before 1200 – a twin child, as itwinn.^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * c. 1225 – the verb, to part, separate.^(OED 1989)

+ * late 14th century – to join, couple.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1590 – born at the same birth, in Shakespeare.^(Barnhart 1988)^(OED 1989)

+ * 1591 – forming a pair.^(OED 1989)^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * 1883 – the Twin Cities.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Noun===

+ # One of two children or animals born at the same [[birth]].^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # One of two people or things that are alike; a [[counterpart]].^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # A [[crystal]] made of two parts that are mirror images of each other.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+

+ ===Adjective===

+ # Being one of twins: ''a twin brother''.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # Being one of a pair of alike things; made of two like parts: ''twin engines''.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+

+ ===Verb===

+ # To pair or couple; in Britain, to link a town with one abroad.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)^(SOED 2002)

+ # To give birth to twins.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[twinship]]

+ * [[twin-engine]]

+ * [[twin-size]]

+ * [[twin bed]]

+ * [[Twin Peaks]]

+ * [[twin killing]]

+ * [[twin room]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[two]]

+ * [[twi-]]

+ * [[twain]]

+ * [[twine]]

+ * [[between]]

+ * [[Gemini]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}