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Origin and history of twi-

twi-

word-forming element of Germanic origin meaning "two, twice, double, in two ways;" from Old English twi- "two, in two ways, twice, double," from Proto-Germanic *twi- (source also of Old Frisian twi-, Old Norse tvi-, Dutch twee-, Old High German zwi-, German zwei-). This is reconstructed to be from PIE *dwis (source also of Sanskrit dvi-, Greek di-, Old Latin dvi-, Latin bi-, Lithuanian dvi-), a compounding form from the root *dwo- "two."

Cognate with bi-, it was the regular combining form for "two" in Old English. The few words in it that survived into Middle English include twinter "two years old" (of cattle, sheep, etc.), reduced from Old English twi-wintre, and Old English twispræc "double or deceitful speech," twibill "axe with two cutting edges." Wycliffe (1382) has twisel-tonge "malicious gossip, slanderer," on the notion of "double-tongued." Also compare twilight, a Middle English coinage.

Entries linking to twi-

twilight(n.)

"light from the sky when the sun is below the horizon at morning and evening," c. 1400 (late 14c. as twilighting), a compound of twi- + light (n.) Cognate with Middle Flemish twilicht, Dutch tweelicht (16c.), Middle High German twelicht, German zwielicht. Glossing Latin crepusculum.

The connotation of twi- in this word is unclear, but it appears more likely to refer to "half" light than to twilight's occurring twice a day. Compare also Sanskrit samdhya "twilight," literally "a holding together, junction," Middle High German zwischerliecht, literally "tweenlight."

Originally and most commonly in English with reference to evening twilight but occasionally used of morning twilight (the specific sense attested by mid-15c.).

In reference to any faint light or partial darkness from 1660s. Figurative extension is by c. 1600, as "intermediate position or period," also "indistinct medium of perception, state of hazy illumination." As an adjective, "belonging to or pertaining to twilight" (1620s).

Twilight zone is from 1901 in a literal sense, a part of the sky lit by twilight; from 1909 in extended senses in references to topics or cases where authority or behavior is unclear. The U.S. TV series of that name is from 1959. In the 1909 novel "In the Twilight Zone," the reference is to mulatto heritage ("She was in the twilight zone between the races where each might claim her ..."). James Russell Lowell (1889) has twi-life "life marked by indistinct consciousness or awareness."

bi-

word-forming element meaning "two, having two, twice, double, doubly, twofold, once every two," etc., from Latin bi- "twice, double," from Old Latin dvi- (cognate with Sanskrit dvi-, Greek di-, dis-, Old English twi-, German zwei- "twice, double"), from PIE root *dwo- "two."

Nativized from 16c. Occasionally bin- before vowels; this form originated in French, not Latin, and might be partly based on or influenced by Latin bini "twofold" (see binary). In chemical terms, it denotes two parts or equivalents of the substance referred to. Cognate with twi- and di- (1).

*dwo-

Proto-Indo-European root meaning "two."

It might form all or part of: anadiplosis; balance; barouche; between; betwixt; bezel; bi-; binary; bis-; biscuit; combination; combine; deuce; deuterium; Deuteronomy; di- (1) "two, double, twice;" dia-; dichotomy; digraph; dimity; diode; diphthong; diploid; diploma; diplomacy; diplomat; diplomatic; diplodocus; double; doublet; doubloon; doubt; dozen; dual; dubious; duet; duo; duodecimal; duplex; duplicate; duplicity; dyad; epididymis; hendiadys; pinochle; praseodymium; redoubtable; twain; twelfth; twelve; twenty; twi-; twice; twig; twilight; twill; twin; twine; twist; 'twixt; two; twofold; zwieback.

It might also be the source of: Sanskrit dvau, Avestan dva, Greek duo, Latin duo, Old Welsh dou, Lithuanian dvi, Old Church Slavonic duva, Old English twa, twegen, German zwei, Gothic twai "two;" first element in Hittite ta-ugash "two years old."