twain

¹

[ tweyn ]

adjective

1. two.

Twain

²

[ tweyn ]

noun

1. Mark, pen name of Samuel Langhorne Clemens.

twain

¹

/ tweɪn /

determiner

1. an archaic word for two

Twain

²

/ tweɪn /

noun

1. TwainMark18351910MUSWRITING: novelistWRITING: humorous writer Mark , pen name of Samuel Langhorne Clemens . 1835–1910, US novelist and humorist, famous for his classics The Adventures of Tom Sawyer (1876) and The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn (1885)
2. TwainShania1965FCanadianMUSIC: country singer Shania (ʃəˈnaɪə), real name Eilleen Regina Edwards. born 1965, Canadian country-rock singer; her bestselling recordings include The Woman In Me (1995) Come On Over (1997), and UP! (2002)

Word History and Origins

Origin of twain¹

before 900; Middle English twayn originally, nominative and accusative masculine, Old English twēgen ( two ); cognate with obsolete German zween

Word History and Origins

Origin of twain¹

Old English twēgen ; related to Old Saxon twēne , Old High German zwēne , Old Norse tveir , Gothic twai

Example Sentences

Historically, each group did their own thing, “and never the twain should meet until, like, you had to,” she said.

From Los Angeles Times

As with “Atlanta,” “Mr. & Mrs. Smith” presents Glover in a zero-overlap zone where acting is acting and music is music and never the twain shall meet.

From Los Angeles Times

As long as the twain never meet, we’re good — and by we, I mean humankind.

From New York Times

That's true of religion and genre franchise entertainment, and often the twain meets within the fandoms of heritage brands like "Star Wars," the Tolkien universe, and, yes, "Star Trek."

From Salon

“This is one of the evils of the ‘two cultures’ myth,” he says: Some students are channeled into scientific subjects, and others into humanities, and “never the twain shall meet.”

From Science Magazine

Related Words

• couple
• double
• pair
• team