Source etymology 1
Original entry ↗num
two
noun
Pair, couple.
adj
Selected source glosses provide context, not a complete modern definition inventorytwofold
Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *dwóh₁ Proto-Germanic *twai Proto-West Germanic *twai-der. Old English twēġen Middle English tweyne English twain PIE word *dwóh₁ From Middle English tweyne, tweien, twaine, from Old English twēġen m (“two”), from Proto-West Germanic *twai-, from Proto-Germanic *twai, from Proto-Indo-European *dwóh₁. Cognate with Saterland Frisian twäin, Low German twene, German zween. More at two. The word outlasted the breakdown of gender in Middle English and survived as a secondary form of two, then especially in the cases where the numeral follows a noun. Its continuation into modern times was aided by its use in KJV, the Marriage Service, in poetry (where it is commonly used as a rhyme word), and in oral use where it is necessary to be clear that two and not to or too is meant.
Relationships mentioned by the source
These are extracted mentions, not a timeline or a verified sequence of immediate parents.
Inspect preserved source fields
Raw extraction fields are retained for auditing. Their order does not establish ancestry.
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"name": "etymon",
"args": {
"1": "en",
"2": ":inh",
"3": "enm:tweyne",
"id": "two",
"tree": "1"
},
"expansion": "Etymology tree\nProto-Indo-European *dwóh₁\nProto-Germanic *twai\nProto-West Germanic *twai-der.\nOld English twēġen\nMiddle English tweyne\nEnglish twain\n[Appendix:Glossary#derived_terms|Derived]] from\", \"terms\" : [ { \"children\" : [ { \"terms\" : [ { \"id\" : \"two\", \"children\" : [ { \"terms\" : [ { \"id\" : \"two\", \"children\" : [ ], \"status\" : \"ok\", \"lang_name\" : \"Proto-Indo-European\", \"term\" : \"*dwóh₁\", \"lang\" : \"ine-pro\" } ], \"keyword_label\" : \"Inherited from\", \"keyword\" : \"inherited\" } ], \"status\" : \"ok\", \"lang_name\" : \"Proto-Germanic\", \"term\" : \"*twai\", \"lang\" : \"gem-pro\" } ], \"keyword_label\" : \"Inherited from\", \"keyword\" : \"inherited\" } ], \"lang_name\" : \"Proto-West Germanic\", \"term\" : \"*twai-\", \"status\" : \"ok\", \"lang\" : \"gmw-pro\" } ], \"keyword\" : \"derived\" } ], \"lang_name\" : \"Old English\", \"term\" : \"twēġen\", \"status\" : \"ok\", \"lang\" : \"ang\" } ], \"keyword_label\" : \"Inherited from\", \"keyword\" : \"inherited\" } ], \"lang_name\" : \"Middle English\", \"term\" : \"tweyne\", \"status\" : \"ok\", \"lang\" : \"enm\" } ], \"keyword_label\" : \"Inherited from\", \"keyword\" : \"inherited\" } ], \"status\" : \"ok\", \"lang_name\" : \"English\", \"term\" : \"twain\", \"lang\" : \"en\" }\" data-id=\"two\" data-lang=\"en\" data-title=\"twain\" id=\"English:_two\">"
},
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},
"expansion": ""
},
{
"name": "langname",
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},
"expansion": "Proto-Indo-European"
},
{
"name": "word",
"args": {
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"2": "ine",
"3": "dwóh₁",
"id": ""
},
"expansion": ""
},
{
"name": "PIE word",
"args": {
"1": "en",
"2": "dwóh₁"
},
"expansion": "PIE word\n *dwóh₁"
},
{
"name": "inh",
"args": {
"1": "en",
"2": "enm",
"3": "tweyne"
},
"expansion": "Middle English tweyne"
},
{
"name": "inh",
"args": {
"1": "en",
"2": "ang",
"3": "twēġen",
"4": "",
"5": "two",
"g": "m"
},
"expansion": "Old English twēġen m (“two”)"
},
{
"name": "der",
"args": {
"1": "en",
"2": "gmw-pro",
"3": "*twai-"
},
"expansion": "Proto-West Germanic *twai-"
},
{
"name": "der",
"args": {
"1": "en",
"2": "gem-pro",
"3": "*twai"
},
"expansion": "Proto-Germanic *twai"
},
{
"name": "der",
"args": {
"1": "en",
"2": "ine-pro",
"3": "*dwóh₁"
},
"expansion": "Proto-Indo-European *dwóh₁"
},
{
"name": "cog",
"args": {
"1": "stq",
"2": "twäin"
},
"expansion": "Saterland Frisian twäin"
},
{
"name": "cog",
"args": {
"1": "nds",
"2": "twene"
},
"expansion": "Low German twene"
},
{
"name": "cog",
"args": {
"1": "de",
"2": "zween"
},
"expansion": "German zween"
},
{
"name": "etymon",
"args": {
"1": "en",
"2": ":inh",
"3": "enm:tweyne",
"id": "two",
"tree": "1"
},
"expansion": "Etymology tree\nProto-Indo-European *dwóh₁\nProto-Germanic *twai\nProto-West Germanic *twai-der.\nOld English twēġen\nMiddle English tweyne\nEnglish twain"
}
],
"links": [
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"*dwóh₁",
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],
[
"*twai",
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],
[
"*twai-",
"Reconstruction:Proto-West Germanic/twai-"
],
[
"twēġen",
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],
[
"tweyne",
"tweyne#Middle_English"
],
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"*dwóh₁",
"Reconstruction:Proto-Indo-European/dwóh₁"
],
[
"tweyne",
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],
[
"tweien",
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],
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],
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],
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],
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[
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"two",
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],
[
"two",
"two#English"
],
[
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],
[
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],
[
"to",
"to#English"
],
[
"too",
"too#English"
]
],
"references": [],
"descendants": [],
"lexical": [
{
"pos": "num",
"glosses": [
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],
"tags": [
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{
"pos": "noun",
"glosses": [
"Pair, couple."
],
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{
"pos": "adj",
"glosses": [
"twofold"
],
"tags": [
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"rare"
],
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