Both vs Twain - What's the difference?
both | twain |
Each of the two; one and the other.
* (Bible), (w) xxi. 27
* (1678-1751)
*
* {{quote-magazine, date=2013-07-19, author=
, volume=189, issue=6, page=34, magazine=(The Guardian Weekly)
, title= (obsolete) Each of more than two.
* (Oliver Goldsmith) (1730-1774)
* (Samuel Taylor Coleridge) (1772-1834)
(dated) two
* 1866 , , Before Parting , lines 1-2
* 1889 , , line 1
* 1900 , , Amor Profanus , lines 26-28
As a determiner both
is each of the two; one and the other.As a conjunction both
is including both (used with and.As a numeral twain is
two.As a verb twain is
to part in twain; divide; sunder.As a noun TWAIN is
a standard software protocol and applications programming interface (API) that regulates communication between software applications and imaging devices such as scanners and digital cameras.As a proper noun Twain is
{{surname}.both
English
Alternative forms
* bothe (archaic)Determiner
(en determiner)- Abraham took sheep and oxen, and gave them unto Abimelech; and both of them made a covenant.
- He will not bear the loss of his rank, because he can bear the loss of his estate; but he will bear both , because he is prepared for both.
- Mind you, clothes were clothes in those days. There was a great deal of them, lavish both in material and in workmanship.
Ian Sample
Irregular bedtimes may affect children's brains, passage=Irregular bedtimes may disrupt healthy brain development in young children, according to a study of intelligence and sleeping habits. ¶ Going to bed at a different time each night affected girls more than boys, but both fared worse on mental tasks than children who had a set bedtime, researchers found.}}
- Both mongrel, puppy, whelp, and hound.
- He prayeth well who loveth well both man and bird and beast.
Quotations
* (English Citations of "both")See also
(various semantically related terms) * * * couple * double * dual * neither * pair * second * twice * twotwain
English
Etymology 1
From (etyl) tweyne, tweien, twaine, from (etyl) . 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's 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. It could look like one of the many English words inherited from Old Norse. The modern Danish word is "tvende" (pronounced tvenne), it means both, two of a kind, etc.Numeral
(head)- But the warm twilight round us twain will never rise again.
- Bring me these twain cups of wine and water, and let us drink from the one we feel more befitting of this day.
- A month or twain to live on honeycomb
- Is pleasant;
- Oh, East is East and West is West, and never the twain shall meet.
- […] all too soon we twain shall tread
- The bitter pastures of the dead:
- Estranged, sad spectres of the night.