Twain Definition

Origin of Twain

• The word outlasted the breakdown of gender in Middle English and survived as a secondary form of two, then especially in the cases where the numeral follows a noun. Its continuation into modern times was aided by its use in KJV, the Marriage Service, in poetry (where it's commonly used as a rhyme word), and in oral use where it is necessary to be clear that two and not "to" or "too" is meant.

  From Wiktionary

• From Middle English tweyne, tweien, twaine, from Old English feminine of twÄ“Ä¡en (“two"), from Proto-Germanic *twai, from Proto-Indo-European *dwóh₁. Compare the word two.

  From Wiktionary

• It could look like one of the many English words inherited from Old Norse. The modern Danish word is "tvende" (pronounced tvenne), it means both, two of a kind, etc.

  From Wiktionary

• Middle English tweien, twaine from Old English twēgen dwo- in Indo-European roots

  From American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition