twegen

Old English

Alternative forms

• twēġe, tuēġen
• twœ̄ġe, tuœ̄ġe, tuēġe — Northumbrian
• ᛏᚹᛟᚷᛖᚾ (twœġen) — Franks Casket

Etymology

From Proto-West Germanic *twai-: cognate with Old Saxon and Old Dutch twēne, Old High German zwēne, whence archaic German zween, compare German zwei.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈtweː.jen/

Adjective

twēġen

1. two
   • late 10th century, Ælfric, "Preface to Genesis"‎:

     God ġesċōp ūs twā ēagan and twā ēaran, twā nosþȳrlu and twēġen weoloras, twā handa and twēġen fēt.

     God gave us two eyes and two ears, two nostrils and two lips, two hands and two feet.

Usage notes

• The masculine form twēġen is almost never used in complex numerals. Hence "twenty-two people" is twā and twēntiġ manna, not *twēġen and twēntiġ, and "the twenty-second person" is sē twā and twēntigoþa mann, even though mann ("person") is a masculine noun.

• In poetry, neuter nouns are usually used with tū. However, in prose, they often occur with twā instead, especially in Late West Saxon prose, where tū is almost completely absent.

• The combining form (i.e., the form used as the first element of a compound) is twi-: twidǣlan (“to halve”), twieċġe (“double-edged”), twifeald (“double”), twifēte (“bipedal”), twiwintre (“two years old”). See also þrī, whose combining form is þri-.

Declension

Derived terms

• ōþer twēġa
• twēntiġ

Descendants

• Middle English: tweyne, tweien, twaine
  • English: twain
  • Yola: twy, twi, twye, twee, twine, twyne