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Origin and history of twin

twin(adj.)

Old English twinn "consisting of two, twain, twofold, double, two-by-two," from Proto-Germanic *twisnjaz "double" (source also of Old Norse tvinnr "double, twin," Old Danish tvinling, Dutch tweeling, German zwillung), from PIE *dwisno- (source also of Latin bini "two each," Lithuanian dvynu "twins"), from *dwi- "double," from root *dwo- "two."

Minneapolis and St. Paul in Minnesota have been the Twin Cities since 1883, but the phrase was used earlier of Rock Island and Davenport (1856).

twin(v.)

late 14c., "combine two things closely, join, couple," from twin (adj.). Related: Twinned; twinning.

Earlier any typically in Middle English the verb meant "part, part with, separate from, estrange (a married couple); be parted in twain," of persons or things, "go separate ways" (mid-13c.), on the notion of making two what was one. Hence Middle English twinning (n.) meant "parting, separation, division."

also from late 14c.

twin(n.)

c. 1300, "one of two children born at a single birth," Middle English twin, earlier itwin, from Old English getwinn "double;" getwinnas "twins, two born at one birth," from the adjective (see twin (adj.)).

By late 14c. in reference to animals, also the constellation Gemini (the Twins). The general sense of "pair linked together by particular relation or resemblance" is by 1580s. Another old word for "one of a pair of twins" was twinling (c. 1300).

also from c. 1300

Entries linking to twin

triplet(n.)

1650s, "three successive lines of poetry," from triple; perhaps patterned on couplet.

Extended to any set, collection, or combination of three by 1733, and to three children at the same birth by 1787, a use still marked "colloquial" in late 19c. dictionaries. Another word for this was trin, 1831, on the model of twin; Blount (1656) has tergeminous "threefold, triple," as a noun "one of the three born at the same time."

The musical meaning "three notes played in the time of two" is from 1801.

twist(n.)

late 13c., "flat part of a hinge" (a sense now obsolete), probably from Old English -twist "divided object; fork; rope" (as in mæst-twist "mast rope, stay;" candeltwist "wick"), from Proto-Germanic *twis-, from PIE root *dwo- "two."

Oldest uses suggest an etymological meaning "dividing in two," but later ones have the notion of "combining two into one," hence the sense of "thread or cord composed of two or more fibers" (1550s) might be "made of two strands." Compare the Middle English senses of twin (v.).

The meaning "act or action of turning on an axis, progressive rotary motion" is attested from 1570s. The sense of "beverage consisting of two or more liquors" is attested c. 1700, on the notion of "things spun together."

In reference to a spiral form, disposition, or arrangement from c. 1700; the meaning "thick cord of tobacco" resembling a rope or coil is from 1791. The sense of "loaf or roll of twisted dough baked" is by 1830. The meaning "curled piece of lemon, etc., used to flavor a drink" is recorded from 1958.

As "a wrenching out of place or shape," in reference to a body part, by 1865. Figuratively, "a peculiar bent, a deviation from the usual," by 1811, on the notion of a turning aside. The sense of "unexpected plot development" is from 1941.

The popular rock 'n' roll dance craze is from 1961, so called from the rotary hip motion involved, but twist was used to describe popular dances in 1890s and again in the 1920s. To get one's knickers in a twist "be unduly agitated" is British slang attested by 1971.

Cognates include Old Norse tvistra "to divide, separate," Gothic twis- "in two, asunder," Dutch twist, German zwist "quarrel, discord," though these senses have no equivalent in English. In Middle English twist might also mean "branch of a tree, tendril of a vine, young shoot; place of juncture or forking in the body, the groin."

*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."