Twin Definition | Definition of Twin at Dictionary.com

twin

1 [twin]

,noun, adjective, verb, twinned, twin⋅ning.

–noun

1.	either of two children or animals brought forth at a birth.

2.	either of two persons or things closely related to or closely resembling each other.

twin bed.

4.	Also called twin room. a type of hotel accommodation with twin beds, for occupancy by two persons. Compare double (def. 13).

5.	Also called hemitrope. Crystallography. a compound crystal consisting of two or more parts or crystals definitely oriented each to the other; macle.

6.	Twins, Astronomy, Astrology. the constellation or sign of Gemini.

–adjective

7.	being a twin or twins: twin sisters.

8.	being two persons or things closely related to or closely resembling each other.

9.	being one of a pair; identical: a twin bracelet; a twin peak.

10.	consisting of two similar parts or elements joined or connected: a twin vase.

11.	Botany, Zoology. occurring in pairs; didymous.

12.	Crystallography. of the nature of a twin; hemitrope.

13.	twofold or double.

–verb (used with object)

14.	to bring together in close relationship; pair; couple.

15.	to furnish a counterpart to or a replica of; match.

16.	Informal. to divide or convert into two, parts, similar items, etc.: The old movie palace will be twinned, making two smaller theaters.

17.	Informal. to link or combine with: The new grocery store is twinned with a restaurant.

18.	Crystallography. to form into a twin.

19.	Obsolete. to give birth to as twins.

–verb (used without object)

20.	to give birth to twins.

21.	to be paired or coupled.

Origin:
bef. 900; ME; OE twinn (adj.), getwinn (n. and adj.); akin to OFris twīne, ON tvinnr double, Goth twaihnai

twin

2 [twin]

–verb (used with object), verb (used without object), twinned, twin⋅ning. Scot.

twine ² .

twine

2 [twahyn]

–verb (used with object), verb (used without object), twined, twin⋅ing. Scot.

to separate; part.

Also, twin.

Origin:
1175–1225; late ME twinen, var. of earlier twinnen, deriv. of twin twin ¹

Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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twin (twĭn)

One of two offspring born at the same birth.
One of two identical or similar people, animals, or things; a counterpart.
twins Mineralogy Two interwoven crystals that are mirror images of each other.
A twin-size bed.

adj.

Being two or one of two offspring born at the same birth: twin sisters.
Being two or one of two identical or similar people, animals, or things: twin cities; a twin bed.
Botany Of or relating to structures, such as flowers, that occur in pairs.
Consisting of two identical or similar parts: a twin lamp fixture.

v. twinned, twin·ning, twins

v. intr.

1. To give birth to twins.
2. Archaic To be one of twin offspring.
To be paired or coupled.

v. tr.

To pair or couple.
To provide a match or counterpart to.

[Middle English, from Old English twinn, twofold; see dwo- in Indo-European roots.]

The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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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.

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.

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.

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.

Twin

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

Language Translation for : twin

Spanish: gemelo,

German: der Zwilling; Zwillings-…,

Japanese: 双生児

More Translations »

twin (adj.)

O.E. twinn "consisting of two, twofold, double," probably ultimately from P.Gmc. *twinjaz (cf. O.N. tvinnr, O.Dan. tvinling, Du. tweeling, Ger. zwillung), from PIE *dwisno- (cf. L. bini "two each," Lith. dvynu "twins"), from *dwi- "double," from base *dwo- "two" (see two). The verb meaning "to combine two things closely" is recorded from c.1394. The noun developed from O.E. getwinn "double."

Main Entry: ¹twin
Pronunciation: 'twin
Function: adjective
: born with one other or as a pair at one birth twin brother><twin girls>

Main Entry: ²twin
Function: noun
1 : either of two offspring produced at a birth
2 twins pl : a group of twooffspring born at one birth —twin·ship /-"ship/ noun

twin (twĭn)
n.
One of two offspring born at the same birth. adj.

Being two or one of two offspring born at the same birth.
Consisting of two identical or similar parts; double.

twin (twĭn) Pronunciation Key

One of two offspring born of a single gestation. Identical twins result from the division of a fertilized egg. Fraternal twins result from the fertilization of two separate eggs at the same time.
A crystal structure consisting of two intergrown crystals that are mirror images of each other. Mineral twins can form as result of defective crystal growth in response to stress from rock deformation or during magma cooling.

twin

either of two young who are simultaneously born from one mother. Twinning, common in many animals, is of two biological kinds: the one-egg (monozygotic), or identical, type and the two-egg (dizygotic), or fraternal, type. The latter type is more usual and can be thought of simply as a litter of two. In humans, psychological studies of sets of identical twins, since they are genetically identical, have provided much otherwise unobtainable information on the relative effects of genetic endowment and environment. See also multiple birth.

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Encyclopedia Britannica, 2008. Encyclopedia Britannica Online.
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