Twinne

Part of speech: noun, adjective, verb

Definitions

1. An archaic verb meaning to split something apart or divide it into two separate parts
2. Old-fashioned term for parting or separating one thing from another so that they become distinct
3. Obsolete word describing the act of dividing a whole into two pieces or sundering a union

Etymology: Before "twin" meant one of two children born together, the Old English "twinn" meant simply "double" or "twofold," describing any pair or doubling. The "twin" sense of a paired person or thing developed later, and the older meaning survives in the idea of something split into two. The English "twin" traces back to a Proto-Germanic form built on the number "two," so its deepest root is the same as the root of "two," "twice," and "between." The Middle English spelling "twinne" is an older variant of the same word, and some Middle English uses of this family of forms likely meant "to part" or "to separate," which fits the sense of dividing something into two. The exact range of meanings in Middle English is uncertain, so the safest reading is that "twinne" is an archaic spelling of "twin" tied to the idea of two-ness.