Double

Part of speech: adjective, verb, noun

Pronunciation: /ˈdʌb.əl/

Definitions

1. A numerical value that is two times a given amount represents a specific quantity
2. achieving a pair of successful outcomes showcases dual achievement
3. An amount or quantity that is twice as large as another ; having two identical or corresponding elements as a pair ; to increase something by a factor of two or repeat it twice

Etymology: The word "double" carries a built-in arithmetic: its Latin ancestor "duplus" meant "twofold," built from roots that combine "two" with a suffix meaning "-fold," the same sense that survives in words like "triple" and "multiple." The Latin form passed into Old French as "doble," and English picked it up from there in the Middle English period, so the idea of doubling was packed into the word from the start rather than added later. Its close relatives show how the same root spread across languages. Italian "doppio" and English "duple" come from the same Latin source, but they reached their present forms by different routes, so they are doublets: one word that entered a language twice and came out looking different each time. "Duple," in music, describes a rhythm grouped in twos, which keeps the original sense of two-part division alive in a technical corner of English.

Synonyms: twice, dual, twofold, duplicate, bifold

Antonyms: single, individual, one