twin
pronunciation
How to pronounce twin in British English:
UK [twɪn]
How to pronounce twin in American English:
US [twɪn]
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- Noun:
- either of two offspring born at the same time from the same pregnancy
- a duplicate copy
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- Verb:
- duplicate or match
- bring two objects, ideas, or people together
- grow as twins
- give birth to twins
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- Adjective:
- being two identical
- very similar
Word Origin
- twin
- twin: [OE] Twin originally meant simply ‘double’, but the specific application to ‘two people born at the same birth’ had already evolved by the end of the Old English period. The word goes back via prehistoric Germanic *twisnaz to Indo- European *dwisno-, a derivative of the base *dwi- ‘double’ (other derivatives formed with the same -n suffix include English between and twine [OE] – etymologically thread of ‘two’ strands).=> between, twine, two
- twin (adj.)
- Old English twinn "consisting of two, twofold, double, two-by-two," from Proto-Germanic *twisnjaz "double" (cognates: Old Norse tvinnr "double, twin," Old Danish tvinling, Dutch tweeling, German zwillung), from PIE *dwisno- (cognates: Latin bini "two each," Lithuanian dvynu "twins"), from *dwi- "double," from root *dwo- "two" (see two). Minneapolis and St. Paul in Minnesota have been the Twin Cities since 1883, but the phrase was used earlier of Rock Island and Davenport (1856).
- twin (v.)
- "to combine two things closely, join, couple," late 14c., from twin (adj.). Related: Twinned; twinning. In Middle English, the verb earlier and typically meant "to part, part with, separate from, estrange," etc. (c. 1200), on the notion of making two what was one.
- twin (n.)
- c. 1300, from Old English getwinn "double;" getwinnas "twins, two born at one birth," from twinn (see twin (adj.)).
Synonym
couple fellow corresponding mirroring two conjugate identical twofold matching duplex binary duplicate paired dual geminate double binate same
Example
- 1. Her twin brother told her it makes her look unsure of herself .
- 2. But these twin dispositions leave out the real option that is waiting for you .
- 3. Jaroslaw kaczynski , the late president 's twin , is running in his brother 's place .
- 4. The twin otter supply plane for the catlin arctic survey .
- 5. At the ft 's summer party I greeted the twin brother of the paper 's editor with warmth .