Twin vs Twain - What's the difference?
twin | twain |
Either of two people (or, less commonly, animals) who shared the same uterus at the same time; one who was born at the same birth as a sibling.
Either of two similar or closely related objects, entities etc.
A room in a hotel, guesthouse, etc. with two beds; a twin room.
(US) A twin size mattress or a bed designed for such a mattress.
A twin crystal.
(modifier) Forming a pair of twins.
(modifier) Forming a matched pair.
(transitive, obsolete, outside, Scotland) To separate, divide.
(intransitive, obsolete, outside, Scotland) To split, part; to go away, depart.
(usually in the passive) To join, unite; to form links between (now especially of two places in different countries).
* Tennyson
To give birth to twins.
* 1874 , Thomas Hardy, Far from the Madding Crowd
(obsolete) To be born at the same birth.
(dated) two
* 1866 , , Before Parting , lines 1-2
* 1889 , , line 1
* 1900 , , Amor Profanus , lines 26-28
As nouns the difference between twin and twain
is that twin is either of two people (or, less commonly, animals) who shared the same uterus at the same time; one who was born at the same birth as a sibling while 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 verbs the difference between twin and twain
is that twin is to separate, divide while twain is to part in twain; divide; sunder.As a numeral twain is
two.As a proper noun Twain is
{{surname}.twin
English
Alternative forms
* twynne (obsolete)Noun
(en noun)- the twin boys
- twin socks
Derived terms
* conjoined twin * identical twin * Siamese twin *twincestSynonyms
* twindle, twinling, doublet (in the sense of twins and triplets)See also
* twyndyllyng * (hotel room) single, double * twainVerb
(twinn)- Placetown in England is twinned with Machinville in France.
- For example, Coventry twinned with Dresden as an act of peace and reconciliation, both cities having been heavily bombed during the war.
- Still we moved / Together, twinned , as horse's ear and eye.
- “I’ve run to tell ye,” said the junior shepherd, supporting his exhausted youthful frame against the doorpost, “that you must come directly. Two more ewes have twinned — that’s what’s the matter, Shepherd Oak.”
- (Shakespeare)
See also
* sister cityExternal links
* * *twain
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.