Twinen

Part of speech: verb

Definitions

1. An archaic verb meaning to divide something into two separate parts ; an old variant of twine meaning to twist strands together or coil around something
2. Dated verb for splitting a whole into two pieces ; an obsolete form of twine that means to wind or twist things together
3. Archaic sense of parting something in two ; a historic spelling of twine referring to twisting or coiling one thing around another

Etymology: Before it meant wrapping one thing around another, "twine" meant to separate. The Old English verb "twīnan" meant "to divide" or "to part in two," and it grew from "twīn," meaning "double" or "twofold." Middle English "twinen" carried that older sense of parting, and the modern idea of winding strands together seems to have developed later, as the sense of twisting two threads into one became more common. The form "twinen" is an older spelling of the verb, the kind of form a reader of Middle English texts would meet. The root "twi-" points back to the number two, which also appears in "twin" and "twain," though the exact link between these words should be read as shared ancestry rather than a direct descent.

Synonyms: twine, twist, coil, wind, entwine

Antonyms: untwine, unwind, separate