tway, numeral a. Now arch.
(tweɪ)
Forms: see below.
[Apocopate form of OE. twéᵹen, ME. tweyen, twain, the final n being normally dropped. OE. twéᵹe seems not to be recorded in WSax., but it occurs in Anglian in Rushw. Gospel Gl., and in the late Hatton Gosp. before a consonant, and is the ordinary form in Old Northumbrian (varying in Lindisfarne Gl. as twoeᵹe, tuoᵹe, tueᵹ, tuoe, twoe, tue; Rit. Dunelm. has tvoeᵹi, twoeᵹo). These forms are not rigidly confined to the masc. From the OE. twéᵹe (or by similar apocopation of ME. tweyen, tweien) came ME. tweye, twei(e, twey in Midld. and South Eng., twai, tway in North. and North-Midld. But tway in Scotch from c 1500 may also be only a variant spelling of the later twae from twā, two: the Sc. forms have therefore been separated as γ. Even as an archaism the form is now rarely employed.]
A. Illustration of Forms.
(α) 1 twóeᵹe, tuéᵹe (tuóᵹe, tuéᵹ, twé, tué), 1–2 twéᵹe, twǽᵹe, 3 tueye, tueie, tuei, 2–5 twei, 3–5 tweie, tweye, 3–7 twey, 4 tweiȝe, tweyȝe, tuuei; 3 twie, 4–5 twy.
| a 950 Rituale Dunelm. (Surtees) 113 Ðerh hvnd seofontiᵹ tvoeᵹi boec aldes & nives ᵹicyðnisses. c 950 Lindisf. Gosp. Mark vi. 41 Fif hlafo & tue fiscas. Ibid. Luke ii. 24 Tuoe turturas vel tuoᵹe birdas culfras [Rushw. twoeᵹe t. vel twoeᵹe birdas culfra]. c 975 Rushw. Gosp. John ii. 6 Nimende syndriᵹe sestras twoeᵹe vel ðria. c 1160 Hatton Gosp. Matt. xxvi. 37 He ᵹenam petrum & zebedeus tweᵹe sunes [Ags. G. tweᵹen suna]. c 1175 12th c. Hom. (Bodley) 98 Twæȝe men herbiforen þis festen festen. c 1200 Trin. Coll. Hom. 207 Þe gostliche rode..haueð twei names, cordis contritio et proximi compassio. c 1275 Passion of Our Lord 438 in O.E. Misc. 49 Hi nome twey þeoues. c 1275 Lay. 10670 Hii..sende twie [c 1205 tweien] eorles. c 1290 S. Eng. Leg. I. 10/317 Þe tweie croiz..þat þe þeoues on i-hanguede were. 1297 R. Glouc. (Rolls) 731 And ȝef is tueie doȝtren half, & half him sulf nom. Ibid. 6322 Bi tuene þis tueye kinges. a 1325 MS. Rawl. B. 520 lf. 65 b, Tuuei writes of wuche comez tuueine assoines. c 1325 Spec. Gy Warw. 785 Tweye manere shame..Þat on goþ to dampnacioun; Þat oþer, to sauuacioun. 1387 Trevisa Higden (Rolls) VI. 5 Bytwene þe tweie [MS. γ twy] riveres. c 1400 R. Gloucester's Chron. 754 (MS. α) Þeos tweiȝe kinges. c 1449 Pecock Repr. i. ii. (Rolls) 8 A sillogisme is mad of twey proposiciouns dryuyng out of hem the thridde proposicioun. |
(
β)
north. and
midl. Eng. 3–4
tuai, 4
tuay, 4–7 (8–
arch.)
tway (6
twaye),
| a 1300 Cursor M. 12699 (Cott.) Of hir war born god childer tuai [rime sai; F. tway; Tr. twey, rime sey]. c 1330 Arth. & Merl. (Kölbing) 4788 He hadde strengþe of kniȝtes tvay. 13.. Cursor M. 21756 (Gött.) Þe bodi [is] of element[s] tuis tuay [Cott. tuai; F. twies tway, rime I say]. 1559 Mirr. Mag., Ld. Hastings li, Vniudgd hangth yet the case betwixt them twaye [rime saye]. 1579 Spenser Sheph. Cal. May 18 We tway bene men of elder witt. 1611 Coryat's Crudities, Panegyr. Verses d viij b, Tom is..the Greeker of the tway [rime say]. 1742 Shenstone Schoolmistress 51 For sceptre she does wield Tway birchen sprays. 1865 Tway [see B. 1 b]. |
(
γ)
Sc. 4–7
tway, 6–7
tuay.
| c 1375 Sc. Leg. Saints xxii. (Laurentius) 512 Þai tuk þe cors..Þai tway it bare. c 1470 Henry Wallace ix. 801 Mycht we get ane or tway [rime way]. 1513 Douglas æneis i. vi. 17 Amyd the wod his modir met thame tway [rime array]. 1537 Registr. Aberdon. (Maitl. Cl.) I 413 Tway pennies for ilk barne absent. 1549 Ibid. 438 For þe tuay part of þe mylne. 1570 Satir. Poems Reform. xvii. 105 That schot, allace! yis realme hes shot in tway [rime away]. a 1584 Montgomerie Cherrie & Slae 460 Ane foule in hand, or tway [rime day]. a 1600 ― Misc. Poems (S.T.S. 1887) i. 12 A turne in tyme is ay worth other tuay [rime auay.] 1615 Sir W. Mure Misc. Poems viii. 44 Reflecting only on ws tuay [rime away]. |
B. Signification.
= two.
1. In concord with a
n. a. Preceding the
n.| a 950 Tvoeᵹi boec; c 950 Tuoᵹe birdas; c 1160 Tweᵹe sunes; c 1200 Twei names [see A. α above]. c 1275 Passion of Our Lord 645 in O.E. Misc. 55 Þer stoden twei veyre men. 1297 R. Glouc. (Rolls) 312 Tweie dawes hii wende in þe see. Ibid. 1806 Tueie [v.r. twei] emperours of rome, Dioclician &..maximian. 1303 R. Brunne Handl. Synne 11264 To pray..saueþ man on twey partys. 1362 Langl. P. Pl. A. v. 109 He was bitel-brouwed, with twei blered eiȝen. c 1380 Wyclif Sel. Wks. III. 188 Oure Lord..spekiþ..of tweie matrimoneys. c 1394 P. Pl. Crede 439 A litell childe..And tweyne of tweie ȝeres olde. a 1425 Cursor M. 19419 (Trin.) Tweye witenes had þei hem purueide. c 1450 Godstow Reg. 191 An hundred shillyngis..at twey termes in the yere. c 1570 Marr. Wit & Science iv. iv. D iv b, Ignoraunce. Choulde geue twaye pence to see it and tway pence moore. 1573 Tyrie Refut. in Cath. Tractates (S.T.S.) 17 The kirk is vniuersall, and..it hes continewall successioun of pastoures: quhilk tuay markis did neuer..aggrie to onie..congregatioun of heretikes. a 1586 Sidney Arcadia, Geron & Mastix 20 'Tis now full tway score Of yeares..since I good Mastix knew. 1712 Prior Erle Robert's Mice 1 Tway Mice..Batten beside Erle Robert's Table. |
b. Following the
n. poet.| c 1205 Lay. 26235 Þa cleopede he eorles tweie. c 1275 Moral Ode 225 in O.E. Misc. 66 Hunger and þurst, vuele tweye [earlier MSS. twa, two] ivere. 13.. K. Alis. 7254 (Laud MS.) He knew þoo barouns tweye [rime cuntreye]. c 1320 R. Brunne Medit. 50 Þe soper was dyȝt..By dyscyplys seuenty and twey. c 1400 Rom. Rose 1744 Thanne toke I with myn hondis tweie The arowe. c 1440 Pallad. on Husb. viii. 161 Vppon feet but tway. 1543 Grafton Harding's Chron. Ded. xii, The Scottish kyng, sending foorth heraldes tway. 1559 Mirr. Mag., Dk. Buckhm. xxviii, Downthrow we strayt his sellie nephewes twaye. 1865 S. Evans Bro. Fabian 58 Now..shut mine eyen tway. |
† c. tway part (
Sc.), two-thirds (
= twa part: see
two B. I. 1 c).
Obs.| 1531 Acc. Ld. High Treas. Scotl. (1905) VI. 18 For tway elnis and ane tway-part elne gray weluet. 1549 Registr. Aberdon. (Maitl. Cl.) I. 438 With brew hous and tuay part of þe myln of þe said toune. |
2. Absolutely with ellipsis of
n., or following a pronoun or pronominal
adj.| 1297 R. Glouc. (Rolls) 4071 Sibile þe sage sede..Þat þer ssolde of brutayne þre men be ybore Þat ssolde winne þe aumperye of rome; of þe tueye ydo it is,..& þou art þe þridde. 13.. Cursor M. 635 (Gött.) Naked war þai bath tway [Tr. þei boþe tweyn]. c 1350 Will. Palerne 2147 To take hem tweie. a 1450 Knt. de la Tour (1906) 153 Y shalle saie of euery astate an ensaumple or twey. a 1553 Udall Royster D. iv. i. (Arb.) 59, I haue a message or tway. a 1586 Sidney Arcadia iii. Geron & Histor 91 Betwixt vs tway We beare our double yoke. 1642 H. More Song of Soul i. i. xxxiii, When Hattubus old..did tie them tway With nuptiall charm. |
b. In genitive after possess.
pron.| 1476 J. Paston in P. Lett. III. 155 Ther tweys dysposysyon [= the disposition of them two]. |
c. as
n. A pair, couple.
| ? a 1800 Lord Livingston ix. in Child Ballads (1892) viii. 432 They were a comely tway. |
3. in (into) tway: into two parts or pieces, in two.
| c 1375 Cursor M. 20556 (Fairf.) For ferde hir hert sulde brast in-twai. 1558 Lydgate's Bochas ix. xxxv. 36 b, The lyues threde for to breke in tway [Bodl. MS. tweyne]. 1567 Gude & Godlie B. (S.T.S.) 195 Cut ȝour typpet in to tway. 1590 Spenser F.Q. i. vii. 27 Which..almost rent her tender hart in tway. |
4. Comb. as
tway-coned,
tway-edged,
tway-footed,
tway-handed adjs.;
† tway-biting a., ‘biting’ or cutting two ways, two-edged;
† tway-fold adv. = twifold,
twofold;
† tway-like a.: see
quot. and
cf. twileke;
† tway-toothed a., having two rows of teeth. See also
twayblade.
| 1382 Wyclif Prov. v. 4 The tunge of hir sharp as a *twei bitende swerd. |
| 1872 Blackie Lays Highl. 105 Fare-thee-well, thou *tway coned Cruachan. |
| 1545 Joye Exp. Dan. i. B iij b, With the *twei edged swearde. |
| 1303 R. Brunne Handl. Synne 1153 Þys olde man..bade hym take A sak.. And ..turne hyt *tweyfolde. c 1386 Chaucer Can. Yeom. Prol. & T. 13 (Ellesm.) A male tweyfoold [v.r. twyfold] vp on his croper lay. |
| 1398 Trevisa Barth. De P.R. v. liv. (Bodl. MS.) lf. 28/1 Þe feete of foules and of *twey footed beestes. |
| 1552 Acc. Ld. High Treas. Scotl. X. 82 *Tway handit sword. |
| 1551 Recorde Pathw. Knowl. I. Defin. B iij, An other distinction of the names of triangles, according to their sides, whiche other be all equal..other els two sydes bee equall and the thyrd vnequall, which the Greekes call Isosceles,..and in english *tweyleke may they be called. |
| 1387 Trevisa Higden (Rolls) VI. 405 Wormes þat were *tweie [v.r. twy] toþed [L. bidentati] and i-liche to wontes..ete þe brede corne. |