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.
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.
Meanings
Pair, couple.
The twain immediately proffered their companionship.
‘I will come with you,’ said Mr Lessingham.
‘And I,’ echoed Sydney. 1897, Richard Marsh, The Beetle:
The susceptible twain, on the search for adventure, dropped in. 1903 February 8, The Truth, Sydney, page 3, column 3:
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.
Meanings
(dated) two
Since I haue your good leaue to goe away,
I will make haſt; but till I come againe,
No bed ſhall ere be guilty of my ſtay,
Nor reſt be interpoſer twixt vs twaine. c. 1596–1598 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Merchant of Venice”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act III, scene ii], page 176:
A month or twain to live on honeycomb
Is pleasant; 1866, Algernon Swinburne, Before Parting, lines 1–2:
Oh, East is East and West is West, and never the twain shall meet. 1889, Rudyard Kipling, The Ballad of East and West, line 1:
And whenever Sir Chetwynd spoke of his "young girls" he was moved to irreverent smiling, as he knew the youngest of the twain was at least thirty. 1897, Marie Corelli, “Chapter I”, in Ziska: The Problem of a Wicked Soul, New York: Stone & Kimball, page 25:
Bring me these twain cups of wine and water, and let us drink from the one we feel more befitting of this day.
But the warm twilight round us twain will never rise again.
[…] all too soon we twain shall tread
The bitter pastures of the dead:
Estranged, sad spectres of the night. 1900, Ernest Dowson, Amor Profanus, lines 26–28: