Adjacent Words

Twin definitions

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Webster's 1828 Dictionary

TWIN, n.
1. One of two young produced at a birth by an animal that ordinarily brings but one; used mostly in the plural, twins; applied to the young of beasts, as well as to human beings.
2. A sign of the zodiac; Gemini.
3. One very much resembling another.
TWIN, a. Noting one of two born at a birth; as a twin brother or sister.
1. Very much resembling.
2. In botany, swelling out into two protuberances, as an anther or germ.
TWIN, v.i. To be born at the same birth.
1. To bring two at once.
2. To be paired; to be suited. [This verb is little used.]
TWIN, v.t. To separate into two parts.
TWIN'-BORN, a. [twin and born.] Born at the same birth.

WordNet (r) 3.0 (2005)

adj
1: being two identical [syn: duplicate, matching, twin, twinned] n
1: either of two offspring born at the same time from the same pregnancy
2: (astrology) a person who is born while the sun is in Gemini [syn: Gemini, Twin]
3: a waterfall in the Snake River in southern Idaho [syn: Twin, Twin Falls]
4: a duplicate copy [syn: counterpart, similitude, twin] v
1: duplicate or match; "The polished surface twinned his face and chest in reverse" [syn: twin, duplicate, parallel]
2: bring two objects, ideas, or people together; "This fact is coupled to the other one"; "Matchmaker, can you match my daughter with a nice young man?"; "The student was paired with a partner for collaboration on the project" [syn: match, mate, couple, pair, twin]
3: grow as twins; "twin crystals"
4: give birth to twins

Merriam Webster's

I. noun Etymology: Middle English, from twin twofold Date: 14th century 1. a. either of two offspring produced at a birth b. plural, capitalized Gemini 2. one of two persons or things closely related to or resembling each other 3. a compound crystal composed of two adjoining crystals or parts of crystals of the same kind that share a common plane of atoms • twinship noun II. verb (twinned; twinning) Date: 14th century transitive verb 1. to bring together in close association ; couple 2. duplicate, match intransitive verb 1. to bring forth twins 2. to grow as a twin crystal III. adjective Etymology: Middle English, twofold, double, from Old English twinn; akin to Old Norse tvinnr two by two, Old English tw? two Date: 1593 1. born with one other or as a pair at one birth <my twin brother> <twin girls> 2. a. made up of two similar, related, or connected members or parts ; double b. paired in a close or necessary relationship ; matching c. having or consisting of two identical units d. being one of a pair

Oxford Reference Dictionary

n., adj., & v. --n. 1 each of a closely related or associated pair, esp. of children or animals born at a birth. 2 the exact counterpart of a person or thing. 3 a compound crystal one part of which is in a reversed position with reference to the other. 4 (the Twins) the zodiacal sign or constellation Gemini. --adj. 1 forming, or being one of, such a pair (twin brothers). 2 Bot. growing in pairs. 3 consisting of two closely connected and similar parts. --v. (twinned, twinning) 1 tr. & intr. a join intimately together. b (foll. by with) pair. 2 intr. bear twins. 3 intr. grow as a twin crystal. 4 intr. & tr. Brit. link or cause (a town) to link with one in a different country, for the purposes of friendship and cultural exchange. Phrases and idioms: twin bed each of a pair of single beds. twin-engined having two engines. twin-screw (of a ship) having two propellers on separate shafts with opposite twists. twin set esp. Brit. a woman's matching cardigan and jumper. twin town Brit. a town which is twinned with another. Derivatives: twinning n. Etymology: OE twinn double, f. twi- two: cf. ON tvinnr

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Twin Twin, a. [OE. twin double, AS. getwinne two and two, pl., twins; akin to D. tweeling a twin, G. zwilling, OHG. zwiniling, Icel. tvennr, tvinnr, two and two, twin, and to AS. twi- two. See Twice, Two.] 1. Being one of two born at a birth; as, a twin brother or sister. 2. Being one of a pair much resembling one another; standing the relation of a twin to something else; -- often followed by to or with. --Shak. 3. (Bot.) Double; consisting of two similar and corresponding parts. 4. (Crystallog.) Composed of parts united according to some definite law of twinning. See Twin, n., 4. Twin boat, or Twin ship (Naut.), a vessel whose deck and upper works rest on two parallel hulls. Twin crystal. See Twin, n., 4. Twin flower (Bot.), a delicate evergreen plant (Linn[ae]a borealis) of northern climates, which has pretty, fragrant, pendulous flowers borne in pairs on a slender stalk. Twin-screw steamer, a steam vessel propelled by two screws, one on either side of the plane of the keel.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Twin Twin, v. i. [imp. & p. p. Twinned; p. pr. & vb. n. Twinning.] 1. To bring forth twins. --Tusser. 2. To be born at the same birth. --Shak.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Twin Twin, v. t. 1. To cause to be twins, or like twins in any way. --Shak. Still we moved Together, twinned, as horse's ear and eye. --Tennyson. 2. To separate into two parts; to part; to divide; hence, to remove; also, to strip; to rob. [Obs.] The life out of her body for to twin. --Chaucer.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Twin Twin, n. 1. One of two produced at a birth, especially by an animal that ordinarily brings forth but one at a birth; -- used chiefly in the plural, and applied to the young of beasts as well as to human young. 2. pl. (Astron.) A sign and constellation of the zodiac; Gemini. See Gemini. 3. A person or thing that closely resembles another. 4. (Crystallog.) A compound crystal composed of two or more crystals, or parts of crystals, in reversed position with reference to each other. Note: The relative position of the parts of a twin may be explained by supposing one part to be revolved 180[deg] about a certain axis (called the twinning axis), this axis being normal to a plane (called the twinning plane) which is usually one of the fundamental planes of the crystal. This revolution brings the two parts into parallel position, or vice versa. A contact twin is one in which the parts are united by a plane surface, called the composition face, which is usually the same as the twinning plane. A penetration twin is one in which the parts interpenetrate each other, often very irregularly. Twins are also called, according to form, cruciform, geniculated, etc.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Twin Twin, v. i. To depart from a place or thing. [Obs.] ``Ere that we farther twin.'' --Chaucer.

Collin's Cobuild Dictionary

(twins, twinning, twinned) Frequency: The word is one of the 3000 most common words in English. 1. If two people are twins, they have the same mother and were born on the same day. Sarah was looking after the twins... She had a twin brother and a younger brother. N-COUNT: oft N n 2. Twin is used to describe a pair of things that look the same and are close together. ...the twin spires of the cathedral. ...the world's largest twin-engined aircraft. ADJ: ADJ n 3. Twin is used to describe two things or ideas that are similar or connected in some way. ...the twin concepts of liberty and equality... ADJ: ADJ n 4. When a place or organization in one country is twinned with a place or organization in another country, a special relationship is formally established between them. (BRIT) Five Polish banks are to be twinned with counterparts in Western Europe... The borough is twinned with Kasel in Germany. VERB: usu passive, be V-ed with n, V-ed 5. Twin towns or cities are twinned with each other. (BRIT; in AM, use sister cities) This led Zagreb's twin town, Mainz, to donate £70,000-worth of high-quality equipment. ADJ: ADJ n 6. see also identical twin, Siamese twin

Soule's Dictionary of English Synonyms

a. (Bot.) Doubled, geminate, in pairs.

Moby Thesaurus

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