Twaine

Part of speech: noun, adjective

Definitions

1. An archaic variant of the word twain, meaning the number two or a pair of things
2. An old-fashioned spelling of the number two, used to refer to a couple of persons or objects
3. A dated form meaning two, as in referring to a pair or a couple of items

Etymology: Samuel Clemens took his pen name from a Mississippi riverboat call. Leadsmen sounding the channel shouted "mark twain" when the line showed two fathoms, about twelve feet of water, enough to pass safely. Even then, the numeral was an old-fashioned term. This spelling is a variant of the same word, descended from Old English "twēgen," the masculine form of "two." Some early modern writers added a final -e and wrote "twaine," at a time when English spelling had not yet settled. It survives mainly in set phrases, such as "in twain," meaning "in two pieces." Otherwise English replaced it with "two."

Synonyms: two, pair, couple