Etymology

From , , , from feminine of from , from . Compare the word .

The word outlasted the breakdown of gender in Middle English and survived as a secondary form of , 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.

Cardinal number

twain

1. two

   But the warm twilight round us twain will never rise again.

   Bring me these twain cups of wine and water, and let us drink from the one we feel more befitting of this day.

Quotations

• Kipling

  And never the twain shall meet.

• 1866, Algernon Swinburne, Before Parting, lines 1-2

  A month or twain to live on honeycomb

  Is pleasant;

See also

• Mark Twain is the pen name of the author Samuel Langhorne Clemens which means "mark two"