Twinnen

Part of speech: verb

Definitions

1. Archaic term meaning to divide or be parted from another person or thing, often used of separating things that were once joined
2. An old verb for sundering or splitting apart two connected things so that they no longer remain together
3. Obsolete word describing the act of parting or setting apart one thing from another, as in an earlier English usage

Etymology: The verb began as a plain description of splitting something into two. It comes from Old English "twinnian," meaning to divide into two parts, which was built on the adjective "twinn," meaning double or twofold. That adjective is also the ancestor of modern "twin," so the pairing word and the separating verb share a root. The verb was used in Middle English, when it meant to part or pull apart a pair, and it has since faded from everyday speech.