*SET-U

English word origin

Etymology of twixt

From Middle English tuix, twyx (“among; between”) + English -t (excrescent ending). Tuix, twyx is an aphetic form of atwix, atwixen, atwixt (“between”), or bitwix, bitwixe, bitwixen, bitwixt (“among; between”): * Atwixt

1 source sectionExtended source reportWiktionary original ↗
In this entry · 1 source sections

The source etymologies

Wiktionary via Kaikki / Wiktextract

The source reports below are imported and unreviewed by *SET-U. Separate numbered origins and differing source variants are preserved; agreement within this extraction is not independent corroboration.

Unnumbered source etymology

Original entry ↗
prep

Synonym of betwixt (“between”).

Selected source glosses provide context, not a complete modern definition inventory

From Middle English tuix, twyx (“among; between”) + English -t (excrescent ending). Tuix, twyx is an aphetic form of atwix, atwixen, atwixt (“between”), or bitwix, bitwixe, bitwixen, bitwixt (“among; between”): * Atwixt is derived from a- (prefix forming adverb (and derived adjectives and prepositions) expressing activity, condition, position, etc.) + bitwixt. * Bitwixt is derived from Old English betwix, betweox (“between”), from be- (intensifying prefix) + tweox (“twofold”) (from Proto-Germanic *twiskaz (“double, twofold”), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *dwóh₁ (“two”)).

Relationships mentioned by the source

These are extracted mentions, not a timeline or a verified sequence of immediate parents.

  • Inherited-form mentiontuixenm
  • Word-formation component-ten
  • Inherited-form mentionbetwixang
  • Inherited-form mention*twiskazgem-pro · double, twofold
  • Inherited-form mention*dwóh₁ine-pro · two
Inspect preserved source fields

Raw extraction fields are retained for auditing. Their order does not establish ancestry.

{
  "templates": [
    {
      "name": "dercat",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "ine-pro"
      },
      "expansion": ""
    },
    {
      "name": "langname",
      "args": {
        "1": "ine-pro"
      },
      "expansion": "Proto-Indo-European"
    },
    {
      "name": "word",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "ine",
        "3": "dwóh₁"
      },
      "expansion": ""
    },
    {
      "name": "inh",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "enm",
        "3": "tuix"
      },
      "expansion": "Middle English tuix"
    },
    {
      "name": "affix",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "-t",
        "pos1": "excrescent ending"
      },
      "expansion": "-t (excrescent ending)"
    },
    {
      "name": "lg",
      "args": {
        "1": "aphetic"
      },
      "expansion": "aphetic"
    },
    {
      "name": "lg",
      "args": {
        "1": "prefix"
      },
      "expansion": "prefix"
    },
    {
      "name": "lg",
      "args": {
        "1": "adverb"
      },
      "expansion": "adverb"
    },
    {
      "name": "lg",
      "args": {
        "1": "adjective"
      },
      "expansion": "adjective"
    },
    {
      "name": "lg",
      "args": {
        "1": "preposition"
      },
      "expansion": "preposition"
    },
    {
      "name": "sup",
      "args": {
        "1": "3"
      },
      "expansion": "³"
    },
    {
      "name": "sup",
      "args": {
        "1": "2"
      },
      "expansion": "²"
    },
    {
      "name": "inh",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "ang",
        "3": "betwix"
      },
      "expansion": "Old English betwix"
    },
    {
      "name": "lg",
      "args": {
        "1": "intensifying"
      },
      "expansion": "intensifying"
    },
    {
      "name": "lg",
      "args": {
        "1": "prefix"
      },
      "expansion": "prefix"
    },
    {
      "name": "inh",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "gem-pro",
        "3": "*twiskaz",
        "t": "double, twofold"
      },
      "expansion": "Proto-Germanic *twiskaz (“double, twofold”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "inh",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "ine-pro",
        "3": "*dwóh₁",
        "t": "two"
      },
      "expansion": "Proto-Indo-European *dwóh₁ (“two”)"
    }
  ],
  "links": [
    [
      "tuix",
      "tuix#Middle_English"
    ],
    [
      "twyx",
      "twyx#Middle_English"
    ],
    [
      "-t",
      "-t#English"
    ],
    [
      "excrescent",
      "excrescent"
    ],
    [
      "atwix",
      "atwix#Middle_English"
    ],
    [
      "atwixen",
      "atwixen#Middle_English"
    ],
    [
      "atwixt",
      "atwixt#Middle_English"
    ],
    [
      "bitwix",
      "bitwix#Middle_English"
    ],
    [
      "bitwixe",
      "bitwixe#Middle_English"
    ],
    [
      "bitwixen",
      "bitwixen#Middle_English"
    ],
    [
      "bitwixt",
      "bitwixt#Middle_English"
    ],
    [
      "a-",
      "a-#Middle_English"
    ],
    [
      "betwix",
      "betwix#Old_English"
    ],
    [
      "betweox",
      "betweox#Old_English"
    ],
    [
      "be-",
      "be-#Old_English"
    ],
    [
      "tweox",
      "tweox#Old_English"
    ],
    [
      "*twiskaz",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-Germanic/twiskaz"
    ],
    [
      "*dwóh₁",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-Indo-European/dwóh₁"
    ]
  ],
  "references": [],
  "descendants": [],
  "lexical": [
    {
      "pos": "prep",
      "glosses": [
        "Synonym of betwixt (“between”)."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "archaic",
        "literary",
        "poetic"
      ],
      "recordId": "2ff7c1e8179724fe20a05da6527e87e2786e19653bcb0a817378d6be5e0e1e3a",
      "rawRecordSha256": "dcbe5bc93db991dcea754def1a868c87ad30fff559e7ae3521173dc631ca8c0b",
      "sourceRecordOrdinal": 291262
    }
  ],
  "omittedAuxiliaryFields": {
    "templates": 0,
    "links": 0,
    "references": 0,
    "descendants": 0,
    "lexicalRecords": 0,
    "lexicalSenses": 0,
    "glosses": 0
  }
}

Where this record stops

This page does not supply an independently verified sound-change sequence, first-use manuscript or complete family tree unless a cited analysis explicitly establishes one. Missing detail here is a limit of this record—not a claim that humanity knows nothing more.

An older meaning does not determine what a word must mean today. Follow the sources, preserve disagreements, and keep ancestry separate from interpretation.

Contribute located evidence for twixt →

Source and snapshot

Imported from Wiktionary contributors; extracted by Tatu Ylonen / Wiktextract / Kaikki.org. Selected fields are reformatted and grouped; wording, source identity and etymology sections are retained. CC-BY-SA-4.0 applies to the imported source material.

Dump: 2026-10-01 · Extracted: 2026-10-30. These are snapshot dates, not the word’s first attestation or the page’s revision date.

Source entry and bibliography ↗Wiktionary revision history ↗Acquisition and rights ledger
Machine-source provenance
Source SHA-256
5ff2c072f8099f2d2ce484bd6957bf179f046d2ad37bc36555edf8bb84cb5291
Import run
73216b9a9b78ed3830994bf853103716f5a4dc57099e371e9f8fdc468facca26
Permanent entry ID
w-dHdpeHQ