twin

Reading level: hard

Estimated CEFR level: B2 — Upper-Intermediate

Estimated from word frequency; not an official CEFR classification.

Definition

  1. noun either of two offspring born at the same time from the same pregnancy
  2. noun (astrology) a person who is born while the sun is in Gemini
  3. noun a waterfall in the Snake River in southern Idaho

Etymology

PIE word *dwóh₁ From Middle English twinne, twynne, from Old English ġetwin, ġetwinn (“twin, multiple”, noun) and twinn (“twin, two-fold, double, two by two”, adjective), from Proto-Germanic *twinaz (“double/two each, twin”), Proto-Germanic *twinjaz, *twīhnaz (“two each”), from Proto-Indo-European *dwino- (“twin”), from *dwóh₁ (“two”). Cognate with Scots twyn (“twin”), Dutch tweeling (“twin”), German Zwilling (“twin”), Danish tvilling (“twin”), Swedish tvilling (“twin”), Faroese tvinnur (“a double set”), Icelandic tvenna (“duo, pair”), Lithuanian dvynys (“twin”), Russian двойня (dvojnja, “twin”).

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