two, numeral a., n. (adv.)
(tuː)
Forms: see below; also twain, tway.
[OE. twá fem. and neut., t{uacu} neut., of the numeral of which the masc. twéᵹen survives as twain and tway. The forms in the cognate languages which more or less closely correspond to OE. twá and t{uacu} are OFris. twâ fem. and neut. (WFris. twa, EFris. twô, NFris. tâw, tau, tô, tû), MDu. and Du. twee, OS. twâ, twô fem., twê neut. (MLG. twô, twu fem., twê neut.; LG. twê, twe), OHG. zwâ, zwô fem., zwei neut. (MHG. zwô, zwei, G. zwei), ON. and Icel. tveir masc., tvǽr fem., tvau (tvö) neut. (Norw. dial. tvei, tvæ, tvo, tvau, etc.; Sw. två, Da. to), Goth. twai masc., twōs fem., twa neut. (For the forms corresponding to the OE. masc. twéᵹen see twain.) The word is common to all the Indo-European languages, as Skr. dwau masc., dwē fem. and neut., Gr. δύο, L. duo, OIr. dá, Lith. du, dvi, etc.
The genitive and dative forms (see A. 2 and A. 3) did not survive beyond the 13th century.
The pronunc. (tuː), like that of who (huː) from OE. hwá, is due to labialization of the vowel by the w (cf. womb), which then disappeared before the related sound. The successive stages would thus be (twaː, twɔː, twoː, twuː, tuː).]
A. Illustration of Forms.
1. nom. and acc. (α) 1, 4–5, Sc. 6 tua, 1–5, dial. –9, Sc. 5– twa (6 Sc. thwa), 8–9 dial. twaa; 7 Sc. tuae, 8– Sc. twae, 9 north. dial. tweae, twea, tweea, twee. (See also tway.)
The later Sc., and rare northern Eng., twa (twaː, twɔː) in place of twae, twea, etc., is abnormal, but has parallels in wha who, and na adv.2 Examples are given under (b) below.
| Beowulf 1194 Earmhreade twa. a 831 in O.E. Texts 444 An hriðer..& tua flicca. Ibid., Fore Osuulfes sawle twa messan. c 893 K. ælfred Oros. iii. ii. §1 Tua byriᵹ..on eorþan besuncon. c 1000 Ags. Gosp. Luke xvii. 35 Twa beoð ætgædere grindende. c 1000 ælfric Gen. xxv. 23 Twa þeoda..and twa folc. Ibid. xxvii. 9 Bring me twa þa betstan tyccenu. 1154 O.E. Chron. an. 1137 Ᵹif twa men oþer 111 coman ridend to an tun. c 1230 Hali Meid. 35 Gulteð o twa half. a 1300 Tua [see B. I. 5 a]. 1340 Hampole Pr. Consc. 987 Þe tother world..In twa partes divised may be. 1375 Barbour Bruce ii. 234 Twa Erlis alsua with him war. c 1470 [see B. I. 2]. 1483 Cath. Angl. 398/2 Twa,..duo. 1513 Douglas æneis v. Prol. 17 Tua appetitis vneith accordis with vther. 1540 Registr. Aberdon. (Maitl. Cl.) I. 416 Mortificatioun..of thwa merkis ȝerelie. 1596 Dalrymple tr. Leslie's Hist. Scot. (S.T.S.) I. 3 The tua partes..ar called..from..the first tua sones. c 1620 Hume Brit. Tongue (1865) 8 Of this letter the latines them⁓selfes had tuae other sounds. 1721 Ramsay Bessy Bell & Mary Gray 27 Our fancies jee between you twae [rime Gray]. 1789 Burns Five Carlins vii, But nae ane could their fancy please, O ne'er a ane but twae. 1802 Anderson Cumbld. Ball., Nichol the Newsmonger vii, I've twee, nit aw England can bang them. 1825 Brockett N.C. Words, Twea, twee, two. 1851 Cumberld. Gloss., Twea, two. 1901 W. Laidlaw Poetry & Prose 34 Twae windows. Ibid. 35 The twae were kind to ane an' a'. |
| (b) 1721 Ramsay Lucky Spence xiii, I.. whistl'd ben whiles ane, whiles twa. 1780 J. Mayne Siller Gun i. xxvii, His Craft, the Hammermen, fu' braw, Led the Procession, twa and twa. 1815 Scott Guy M. xxii, I have six terriers at hame, forbye twa couple of slowhunds. 1828 Craven Gloss., Twaa, two. |
(
β) 3–
two, 4–7
tuo,
twoo, (5
thwo);
pl. 7
twoes, 7–8
two's, 9
twos.
| c 1200 Trin. Coll. Hom. 47 Two turtle briddes, ȝif hie was poure two duue briddes. ? a 1300 Shires & Hundreds Eng. in O.E. Misc. 145 Þis bis[co]pryche wes hwylen two bispriche. 13.. Cursor M. 16814 + 18 Vnto þe theues twoo [rime froo]. c 1330 R. Brunne Chron. (1810) 282 Tuo watres þer er togidir gon. c 1400 Apol. Loll. 38 Boþ thwo are dedly synne. c 1400 Laud Troy-bk. 18599 That the traytoures bothe two [rime so]. c 1420 Chron. Vilod. 3769 He hadde y-fedryde to-gedur his leygus two [rime þo]. 1447 O. Bokenham Seyntys (Roxb.) 75 For victory of tuo mo she must have. a 1548 Twoo [see B. I. 3 b]. 1560 J. Daus tr. Sleidane's Comm. Pref. 4 It is set-forth..by mo than one or two. 1605 Camden Rem. 191 Twoo Monkes. 1611 Twoes [see B. II. 2]. c 1620 A. Hume Brit. Tongue (1865) 16 At one consonant,..or at tuo consonantes. c 1659 Roxb. Ball. (1887) VI. 324 Here's a health to the Figure of Two [rime adieu]. 1697 [see B. I. 2 d]. 1845 Browning Time's Revenges 22, I am as sure that this he would do, As that Saint Paul's is striking two. |
(
γ) 1
tuu, 1, 4
tu, 4–7
tow (5
thow, 6–7
towe).
Tu,
tuu, was only neuter in
OE., in
ME. tow was general in some dialects.
| c 825 Vesp. Psalter lxi. 12 Tu [L. duo] ðas ic ᵹeherde. c 887 O.E. Chron. an. 887 (Parker MS.) And tu [Laud MS. twa] folc-ᵹefeoht ᵹefuhton. c 890 tr. Bæda's Hist. iii. xv. [xxi.] (1890) 222 Aan biscop sceolde beon ofer tuu folc. a 950 Rituale Dunelm. (Surtees) 106 Voeron..tvv in lichome anvm. c 950 Lindisf. Gosp. Matt. xxiv. 41 Tuu wif ᵹegrundon on coernae. 13.. Cursor M. 16786 (Gött.) Þe stanes brast, þe temple clef in tu [Trin. in two]. 13.. E.E. Allit. P. B. 866, I haf a tresor in my telde of tow my fayre deȝter. 1422 tr. Secreta Secret., Priv. Priv. 164 The thow Sharpe eggis of youre Swerde. c 1440 York Myst. xix. 86 Tow townes betwene. 1510 in 10th Rep. Hist. MSS. Comm. App. v. 394 Every couper shall gyve towe toune hopis for a penye. 1536 Exhort. to North 64 in Furnivall Ball. fr. MSS. I. 306 Bothe nowghty cromwell and the chancelleres towe [rime knowe]. 1597 Vestry Bks. (Surtees) 127 Paid..for mending of tow baudrigs to the bells, xv d. 1602 Carew Eng. Tongue ¶19 Yf, like towe Turkeyes,..wee match it with our neighboures. 1666 Wood Life 11 Dec. (O.H.S.) II. 95, I walked tow dayes before in the garden. |
(
δ) 2–6
to, 4–6
too, 5–6
toe (6
tooe).
| 1154 O.E. Chron. an. 1137 To munekes him namen and bebyried him. 1297 R. Glouc. (Rolls) 11150 Wiþoute þe toun to mile. c 1330 R. Brunne Chron. Wace (Rolls) 330 Com of hym to noble sones. c 1400 Too [see B. I. 3 a]. c 1420 Anturs of Arth. xl. (Ireland MS.) Syxti maylis and moe, The squrd squappes in toe, His canel-bone allsoe. c 1440 Promp. Parv. 495/1 To, or tweyne (K. to, nowmere), duo. c 1460 J. Metham Wks. (E.E.T.S.) 61/1625 Amoryus and Cleopes must dye ther with both to [rime so]. a 1500 Brome Bk. 17 Ȝe that haue sys, dewes, and too [rime goo]. a 1552 Leland Itin. (1907) ii. 141, I saw to antique heddes. 1552–3 Inv. Ch. Goods, Staffs. in Ann. Lichfield IV. 85 Tooe ornaments of dornex. 1558 in Feuillerat Revels Q. Eliz. (1908) 88 Syse, toe pannes—iiij{supd}. 1567 Drant Horace, Epist. ii. ii. H iv, Too Orators..th' one was to the other..a faste ytrothed brother. |
2. gen. 1
tweᵹa (
twoeᵹa),
tweᵹea,
tweaᵹea,
tueᵹa;
tweᵹra (
twoeᵹra,
tuoeᵹara), 2
tweiȝre, 2–3
tweire, 3
tweyre,
twere.
| Beowulf 2531 Uncer tweᵹa. c 825 Vesp. Hymns vi. 2 In midle twoeᵹa netna [duorum animalium] cuðas. c 890 tr. Bæda's Hist. i. xvi. [xxvii.] (1890) 70 Tweᵹra ᵹebroðra bearn oððe tweᵹea ᵹesweostra sunu & dohtor. c 897 K. ælfred Gregory's Past. C. xiv. 86 Ðæt tweaᵹea [Hatton tweᵹea] bleo godweb. c 950 Lindisf. Gosp. John viii. 17 Tuoeᵹara monna uittnesa. c 1000 Ags. Gosp. Matt. xviii. 16 On tweᵹra oððe þreora ᵹewittnesse [Hatton tweiȝre]. c 1200 Trin. Coll. Hom. 95 Tweire kinne. a 1250 Owl & Night. 991 Weþer is betere of twere [v.r. tweyre] twom. |
b. poss. gen.. 6
twoos,
twooes, 7
twoes, 7–
two's.
| 1510–20 Twoos [see B. I. 2]. 1587 Twooes [see B. I. 5 a]. 1619 Hieron Wks. I. 34 After a yeare or twoes nursing. 1676 Ray Corr. (1848) 126 A year or two's time. 1773 Two's [see B. I. 5 a]. |
3. dat. 1
twæm,
tuæm, 1–3
twam, 3
twom.
| Beowulf 1191 Be þæm ᵹebroðrum twæm. c 890 tr. Bæda's Hist. i. x. [xiii.] (1890) 48 Betwih him twam. c 1000 Ags. Gosp. Matt. xxii. 40 On þysum twam [Lindisf. tuæm; Rushw. twæm] bebodum. c 1175 Lamb. Hom. 133 Of twam þingen. a 1250 Twom [see 2 above]. c 1275 Woman of Samaria 40 in O.E. Misc. 85 Bi-twene þis twam volke. |
B. Signification.
The cardinal number next after one; one added to one: denoted by the symbols 2 or ii.
I. adj. 1. In concord with a
n. expressed.
Frequent in proverbial expressions, as
to make two bites of a cherry (
bite n. 4,
cherry n. 1 b);
to have two strings to one's bow (
bow n.1 4 c);
of two evils (or ills) choose the less (
evil n. 4,
ill n. 5 b);
between two fires (
fire n. 14);
two heads are better than one (
head n.1 69);
as like as two peas (
pea1 1 c);
two cents' worth (
U.S.):
= two pennyworth (
fig.);
cf. two-cent adj. in sense IV. 2 below;
no two ways about it: see
way n.1 14 j; etc.
two men (
quot. 1533), the
duumviri: see
duumvir.
| Beowulf 1095 Ða hie ᵹetruwedon on twa healfe fæste frioðuwære. a 900 O.E. Martyrol. 21 Sept. 172 æfter Cristes upastignesse he ᵹelærde twa [v.r. twua] mægða to godes ᵹeleafan. c 1000 Ags. Gosp. Luke ii. 24 Twa turtlan, oððe tweᵹen culfran briddas. c 1175 Lamb. Hom. 7 Þe castel þe wes aȝeines drih[t]nes twa leornikenehtes; he bitacnet þeos world. a 1225 Ancr. R. 10 Þer beoð two dolen to two manere of men. 13.. Coer de L. 504 Hys schelde in twoo peces off. c 1400 Destr. Troy 310 Tow pyllers he pight..Vppon Gades groundes. c 1485 Digby Myst. i. 240 To sle all the children..within to yeer of age. 1530 Palsgr. 594/1 Two wyttes be farre better than one. 1533 Bellenden Livy iii. v. (S.T.S.) I. 256 The solempne preistis, namyt the two men, war commandit to serche þe werkis of Cibil. 1611 [Tarlton] Jests (1844) 21 Two tailors goe to a man. 1671 Milton P.R. i. 159 To conquer Sin and Death the two grand foes. c 1765 Gray Satire 16 As like as two beans. 1850 M{supc}Cosh Div. Govt. iii. ii. (1874) 335 The two inductive methods of acquiring knowledge..are observation and experiment. 1875 T. W. Higginson U.S. Hist. vii. 49 No two explorers agreed about the actual shape of the coast. 1942 Short Guide Gt. Brit. (U.S. War Dept.) 18 You will hear..Britons openly criticizing their government... That isn't an occasion for you to put in your two-cents worth. 1954 Sun (Baltimore) 20 Dec. (B ed.) 14/7 The discussion concerning writers about old age in your column..impels me to add my 2 cents' worth. |
b. With a superlative, either following (
the two best, eldest, first, last, next, etc.;
† formerly sometimes
two the first, etc.), or in later use preceding (
the first two, etc.): the latter is now more usual.
Cf. first a. 2 e,
last a. 1 b. So with
former,
latter. (Also
absol., as in 2.)
| c 1330 R. Brunne Chron. (1810) 52 Emme þe quene..of þe whilk was born Alfred & Edward, Hardknoute þe þrid, Þe tuo first of Eilred, of Knoute Hardknoute tid. c 1350 Will. Palerne 2162 Tvo þe bremest white beres þat euer burn on loked. c 1471 Fortescue Wks. (1869) 459 Than nedith it, that the Kyngs Lyvelood..be gretter than the Lyvelood of two the grettest Lords in Englond. 1556 Olde Antichrist 70, I haue..expounded two the furst. 1560 J. Daus tr. Sleidane's Comm. 44 b, Which two last were not agreed vpon. 1626 Bacon Sylva §249 [The echo] will..report you the whole three Words; And then the two latter Words..; and then the last Word alone. 1635 J. Hayward tr. Biondi's Banish'd Virg. Ep. Ded., The translation of the two first bookes of..Sir Phillip Sydney's Arcadia. 1669– The last two [see last a. 1 b (b)]. 1688 Dryden Lines on Milton, To make a third, she joined the former two. 1692 Bp. Patrick Answ. Touchstone xiv. 100 The two first of them. Ibid., The two next. 1704– The first two [see first a. 2 e (c)]. 1805 Southey Let. 15 Nov., in Life (1850) II. 353 The two best ships in the navy. 1829 Jas. Mill Hum. Mind (1869) II. 329 The association theory may account for the two last, but not for the former. |
c. two parts: two out of three equal parts (
cf. part n. 5), two thirds (see 3 c). Chiefly
Sc., usually in form
the twa part (sometimes as one word
twapart). So
twa daill (
deal n.1 1).
| 1375 Barbour Bruce v. 47 Mair than twa part [v.r. partis] of his rout. Ibid. 369 In schort tym men mycht se ly Þe twapart ded, or þan deand. c 1475 Rauf Coilȝear 123 He tyt the King be the nek, twa part in tene. 1535 Stewart Cron. Scot. (Rolls) II. 21 He loissit be Storme of the Se the Tua Part of his Schippis. 1565 Reg. Privy Council Scot. I. 334 To confisk thair gudis, the twa daill to the Quenis Majesteis behuif, and the thrid to the conservatour. c 1611 Chapman Iliad x. 223 Two parts of night are past, the third is left. 1637–50 Row Hist. Kirk (Wodrow Soc.) 36 Shall Papists peaceablie possess a twa-part of the patrimonie of the Kirk.., and shall Christ's Ministers..not have a third? 1678 Sir G. Mackenzie Crim. Laws Scot. i. xxiii. §7 (1699) 118 The two part thereof belongs to the King, and the third to the Sheriffs. 1808–25 Jamieson, Twa part, twaparte, two thirds... This mode of expression is still quite common... The twa part and third, i.e., two thirds, and the remaining one. |
d. two times as
advb. phr. (expressing repetition or multiplication) is now used only with a demonstrative or defining word; otherwise
twice is substituted: see
twice.
| a 1450 Knt. de la Tour (1906) 43 The auicion come to hem bi two tymes. c 1489 Caxton Sonnes of Aymon iii. 67 He was discomfyted two tymes. 1535 Coverdale Ecclus. xlv. 14 Daylie perfourmed he his burntofferinges two tymes. 1574 Hellowes Gueuara's Fam. Ep. (1577) 112 Two times I haue moued the Cardinal Tortosa in your busines. Mod. I have known it happen two separate times. I called upon him three times, but saw him only once; the other two times he was away. |
e. As ordinal:
= second a. 1. Now only after the
n. (also
number two);
cf. II. 1 c.
| 1586 W. Webbe Eng. Poetrie (Arb.) 62 Make short either the two, foure, sixe, eight, tenne, twelue sillable. 1824 De Quincey Templars' Dial. Pol. Econ. vi. §2 in Misc. (1854) 251 Column two. 1911 Act 1 & 2 Geo. V, c. 14 §1 The additional duty..imposed by the second paragraph of section two of that Act. Mod. Hymn number two. |
2. absol. with ellipsis of
n. (which may usually be supplied from context; also often
= ‘two persons’), or after a pronoun or demonstrative, or as predicate. (For
both two see
both A. 7.)
Also in proverbial expressions, as
two can play at that game;
two's company, three's none (
company n. 1 d). Phr.
that makes two of us,
colloq. formula of agreement: the same is true of me, I am in the same position, I agree.
| c 882 O.E. Chron. an. 882 (Parker MS.) ælfred..þara scipa tu [Laud MS. twa] ᵹenam. c 890 tr. Bæda's Hist. i. xvi. [xxvii.] (1890) 70 Wer & wiif, heo tu beoð in anum lichoman. c 1175 Lamb. Hom. 31 He wule..eaten..et ane mele swa muchel swa et twam. c 1200 Ormin 429 Swa ne didenn nohht ta twa. a 1225 Ancr. R. 202 Uor monie reisuns... Two ich chulle siggen. Ibid. 406, I þisse tweire monglunge. a 1300 Cursor M. 308 (Cott.) Þe hali gost comms of hem tua. a 1375 Joseph Arim. 184 Þe bark of þat on semede dimmore þen ouþer of þe oþer two. c 1425 Cast. Persev. 679 in Macro Plays 97 To may not to-gedyr stonde, but I, Bakbyter, be þe thyrde. c 1470 Henry Wallace iv. 781 Twa him beheld, and said: ‘We will go se’. 1510–20 Compl. too late maryed (1862) 3, I wyll..a wyfe to me take For to increase both our twoos lynage. 1535 Coverdale Eccl. iv. 9 Two are better then one. 1556 Chron. Gr. Friars (Camden) 55 Too of the men that labord at yt. 1560 Bible (Genev.) Amos iii. 3 Can two walke together except thei be agreed? 1596 Dalrymple tr. Leslie's Hist. Scot. v. (S.T.S.) I. 298 Ilk of the tua slayis othir. c 1610 Women Saints 166 Committed to our twoes knowledge onelie. 1612 Colson Gen. Tresury A j b, The generall parts..are only two, or of two sorts. c 1620 A. Hume Brit. Tongue (1865) 1 Nae tuae of the tuentie..wald agree. 1653 W. Ramesey Astrol. Restored 335 Here is two to two,..we stand upon equal terms. 1768 Pennant Zool. II. 363 The males, or Ruffs, assume such variety of colors..that it is scarce possible to see two alike. 1779 Warner in Jesse Selwyn & Contemp. (1844) IV. 101 The Ministry carried it two to one. 1820 Keats Hyperion i. 85 These two were postured motionless. 1847 Helps Friends in C. I. vi. 94 What do you two..think about representative government? 18.. Flor. Marryat (Dixon), Now, don't you call me any names, or you will find that two can play at that game. 1875 Tennyson Q. Mary i. iv, The two were fellow-prisoners. 1956 H. Kurnitz Invasion of Privacy x. 71 ‘He was an amnesia victim.’ ‘That makes two of us,’ said Zorn bitterly. 1974 P. Dickinson Poison Oracle ii. 37 She wanted reassurance. That makes two of us, he thought. 1980 A. E. Fisher Midnight Men ix. 116 ‘She barely understands anything that is g-going on.’ ‘That makes two of us,’ he said. |
b. With ellipsis of
hours, in stating the time of day; also
two o'clock. Also with ellipsis of
years (of age), as
a child of two.
| c 1485 in Digby Myst. (1882) 167 At the parvyse I wyll be.., be-twyn two and three. 1510 Sel. Cases Star Chamb. (Selden) II. 72 Abowt twoo of the Clok in the nyght. 1600 Shakes. A.Y.L. iv. i. 183 By two a clock I will be with thee againe. 1795 Macneill Will & Jean xlvi, Now that nightly meetings Sat and drank frae sax till twa. 1799 Wordsw. Lucy Gray v, The minster-clock has just struck two. 1884 A. Wainwright in Harper's Mag. July 272/1 From two o'clock..until ‘two-fifteen’, the ‘two-twenty’ train gradually fills. |
c. in († on) two (after
vbs. expressing division or the like): into or in two parts or pieces. (See also
a-two.)
| c 890 O.E. Chron. an. 885 (Parker MS.) Her to dælde se fore sprecena here on tu [v.r. twa]. c 1000 Ags. Gosp. Mark xv. 38 Þæs temples wah-rift wæs tosliten on twa [Lindisf. & Rushw. in tuu]. c 1275 Passion of our Lord 448 in O.E. Misc. 50 Hi nolden hyne nouht delen a to ne a þreo. a 1300 Cursor M. 1957 (Cott.) O beist has clouen fote in tua [v.rr. to, two]. c 1400 Laud Troy Bk. 5942 Ther he smot on-two his polle. 1535 Coverdale 1 Sam. ii. 31, I wyll breake thyne arme in two. 1623 Gouge Serm. Extent God's Provid. §15 The massy timber shivered in two. 1794–5 in B. Ward Dawn Cath. Revival (1909) II. 119 A Collier's vessel fell foul of ours, and broke the cable in two. 1805 M{supc}Indoe Poems 107 This trout..Was faulded in twa like a speldin. |
† (
b) So as to be separate the one from the other; asunder, apart.
Obs.| c 897 K. ælfred Gregory's Past. C. vii. 49 Ðeah heo an tu tefleowe, ðeah wæs sio æspryng sio soðe lufu. c 1000 ælfric Hom. I. 388 Ða..wearð him [sc. Paul and Barnabas] ᵹeþuht þæt hi on-twa ferdon. c 1430 Syr Tryam. 60 Betwene the quene and the kyng Was grete sorowe..When they schulde parte in twoo. |
d. two and two,
two by two, formerly also
by two and two: in groups or sets of two; two at a time; by twos.
| c 1000 ælfric Hom. II. 528 He sende hi twam and twam ætforan him. c 1290 S. Eng. Leg. I. 281/109 He saiȝ þe freres go Þoruȝ þe londe, two and two. 13.. Cursor M. 1713 Ȝee sal..tak..Beist and fouxul..Þe meke be þam ai tua and tua, Þe wild do be þam-self al-sua. c 1400 Mandeville (Roxb.) xix. 87 Before þe chariot gase..all þe maydens of þe cuntree, twa and twa togyder. c 1440 J. Capgrave St. Kath. iv. 1264 The clerkis eke were sette be too and too. a 1533 Ld. Berners Huon lxii. 216 Guyer held his brother Gerames by the hande, and so all the other .ii. and .ii. c 1575 J. Hooker Life Sir P. Carew in Archæologia XXVIII. 144 Foremoste wente all the soylders..by tooe and tooe. 1604 E. G[rimstone] D'Acosta's Hist. Indies vi. xxviii. 494 They daunced two and two. 1697 Dryden Virg. Georg. iii. 270 Join'd with his School-Fellows by two and two [rime pursue]. 1709–10 Addison Tatler No. 120 ¶3 Coming out Two by Two, and marching up in Pairs. 1863 Stanley Serm. in East App. i. 153 We started on foot, two and two, between two files of soldiers. |
† e. rule of two (
Arith.): an inclusive name for the ordinary rules for finding a third number from two given numbers,
viz. those of addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division. (
Cf. rule of three,
rule n. 8 b.)
Obs. rare.
| 1612 Colson Gen. Tresury A j b, The..Rules of two, of three, of Reduction. Ibid. B bb j/1 The Rule of Two is by two numbers knowne to finde out the third.., and is generally of two sorts, Rationall, and Proportionall. The Rule of Two Rationall..is of two sorts,..Addition..Substraction. |
3. Forming compound numerals.
a. Added to multiples of ten, as
two-and-thirty, now usually
thirty-two;
a hundred and two. So formerly (now rarely) with the ordinals, as
two-and-fiftieth (now almost always
fifty-second).
† two-and-thirty, a pip out see
pip n.2 1 b.
two-and-twentieth (
Mus.), a note 22 diatonic degrees (
= 3 octaves) above or below a given note (both notes being reckoned); hence, an interval of 3 octaves;
spec. an organ-stop formerly used, sounding 3 octaves above the normal pitch. (Now
twenty-second.)
| c 893 K. ælfred Oros. vi. ii. §1 Þara twa & twentiᵹra monna. a 900 O.E. Martyrol. 29 On þone twa & twentiᵹðan dæᵹ. c 961 æthelwold Rule St. Benet xiii. (1885) 37 Se twa and feowertiᵹeða sealm. c 1200 Trin. Coll. Hom. 47 On þe two and þrittuðe dai. 1297 R. Glouc. (Rolls) 11861 To & tuenti kniȝtes. c 1380 Antecrist in Todd 3 Treat. Wyclif 121 In þe two and þritti boke. c 1400 Destr. Troy 2747 There were twenty and too. 1488–92 Acc. Ld. High Treas. Scot. I. 80 Sex score twa bedis and a knop. 1579 Fulke Heskins' Parl. 201 The two and twentieth Chapter. 1613 Organ Specif. Worcester Cathedral, In the chaire organ 1 flute of wood, 1 two and twentith of mettal. 1768 Foote Devil on 2 Sticks iii. Wks. 1799 II. 276 The two-and-fiftieth part of a scruple. 1896 Mrs. Caffyn Quaker Grandmother 137 Two-and-thirty last March. |
b. As multiplier before
dozen,
score, or before
hundred,
thousand,
million, etc., or the ordinals of these.
Also in comb., as
two-hundred-mile-long adj.;
two-hundred-pound adj. (weighing, or costing, two hundred pounds).
| a 900 Cædmon's Exod. 184 (Gr.) Hæfde him alesen leoda duᵹeðe tireadiᵹra twa þusendo. c 1000 Ags. Gosp. John vi. 7 On tweᵹera hundred peneᵹa wurþe. c 1205 Lay. 1556 Þa he hefde twa [c 1275 two] hundred mid sweorde to-hewen. c 1290 S. Eng. Leg. I. 91/145 In þe to hondrede ȝere. a 1548 Hall Chron., Hen. VIII, 147 b, Twoo hundred thousande Crounes. 1807 Herschel in Phil. Trans. XCVII. 228 Its thickness at one end was 33, and at the other 31 two-hundredths of an inch. 1867 Thirlwall Lett. (1881) II. 118 The two hundred mile long iceberg is still afloat. 1895 B. M. Croker Village Tales (1896) 122 Tall and erect,..carrying his two-score years with grace. 1897 Outing (U.S.) XXIX. 439/1 A two-hundred-pound buck. |
c. As multiplier before an ordinal expressing an aliquot part (
i.e. as numerator of a fraction), as
two-thirds;
spec. in
Fashion, applied to a garment that is shorter than the standard full length by about a third; also
attrib. as
a two-thirds majority.
| [c 1643 Ld. Herbert Autobiog. (1824) 64 The other two third parts.] 1776 Adam Smith W.N. i. xi. iii. (1869) I. 241 In the Saxon times the fleece was estimated at two-fifths of the value of the whole sheep. 1777 Robertson Hist. Amer. (1783) III. 263 All laws..must be approved of by two-thirds of the members. 1888 Rutley Rock-Forming Min. 3 The wire is then bent to about two-thirds of a circle. 1910 H. W. Steed in Encycl. Brit. III. 38/2 The German parties..stipulated that a two-thirds majority should be necessary for any alteration of the law. 1963 Harper's Bazaar Oct. 56/2 This dreamy two-thirds coat. 1980 Washington Post 4 Dec. d3 The writers are really more interested in who's being reassigned to the Ottawa bureau than in whether two-thirds stockings are a trend or not. |
4. In pregnant sense:
= Two different, two distinct.
to be in two minds: see
mind n.1 11 e.
| 1570 T. Wilson Demosthenes 42 margin, To say and to do are two things. 1603 Shakes. Meas. for M. ii. iv. 112 Ignomie in ransome, and free pardon Are of two houses. 1754 Richardson Grandison (1811) I. xii. 71 A learned man and a linguist may very well be two persons. 1797 Burke Regic. Peace iii. Wks. VIII. 273 But reason of state and common sense are two things. 1865 Ruskin Sesame i. §25 There need be no two opinions about these proceedings. 1895 G. S. Street Episodes 134 Gerald in town and Gerald in the country were two people. |
† b. predicatively: Discordant, disagreeing, at variance. (
Cf. one 14,
twain B. 3 a.)
Obs.| c 1645 Howell Lett. (1892) II. 547 The Author thereof and I are two in point of opinion. 1738 Swift Pol. Conversat. 105 When did you see your old Acquaintance, Mrs. Cloudy? You and She are Two, I hear. |
5. a. a{ddd}or two: an indefinite small number of (the things denoted by the
n.); one or two of{ddd}; a few{ddd} (For
one or two see
one B. I. 2 c.)
The whole phrase may take the possessive inflexion, as
a year or two's experience = the experience of a year or two.
| a 1300 Cursor M. 4342 (Cott.) Spek wit me a word or tua. 1543 Sel. Cases Star Chamb. (Selden) II. 267 A moneth or Towe before the said Faire. 1587 Fleming Contn. Holinshed III. 1419/1 After a daie or twooes tariance. 1615–16 in J. C. Jeaffreson Middlesex Co. Rec. (1886) II. 113 To answere the causing of a tumult.., a poore man or two being much hurt. 1773 Goldsm. Stoops to Conq. v. i, An hour or two's laughing with my daughter. 1861 M. Pattison Ess. (1889) I. 45 The garden, where a vine or two and some of the finer sorts of fruit were trained. |
b. two or three (chiefly
dial. and
U.S. two-three,
Sc. twa-three): an indefinite (small or inconsiderable) number (of); a few.
| 1500–20 Dunbar Poems lxxi. 4 Ȝeiris and dayis mo than two or thre. 1557 Peebles Burgh Rec. (1872) 240 The baillies, accumpanit with the thesaurare and tua thre honest men. 1669 Extr. S.P. rel. Friends iv. (1913) 296 Here is many theeues and two Three murtherers and aboue thirty quakers in the Castle. 1670 Lady M. Bertie in 12th Rep. Hist. MSS. Comm. App. v. 21 The under pettycoatt very richly laced with two or three sorts of lace. 1785 Burns Death & Dr. Hornbk. xxiv, In twa-three year. 1843 Borrow Bible in Spain xxviii. (Pelh. Libr.) 198 The walls being covered with books except in two or three places. 1893 Stevenson Catriona xv. 166 She was daundering on the craigs wi' twa-three sodgers. 1930 W. Faulkner As I lay Dying 83 It'd taken them two-three days to get her to town in the wagon. 1949 L. Hughes One-Way Ticket 40, I knock on your door About two-three A.M. 1962 J. F. Straker Coil of Rope ii. 13 You'll have to wait two-three days if you don't go now. 1976 A. Price War Game i. viii. 159 The last two-three years he's been working on a post-graduate thesis. |
c. So rarely
two simply.
| 1661 in Extr. S.P. rel. Friends ii. (1911) 136 We humbly intreate two lynes from your hands. 1818 Scott Hrt. Midl. III. ix. 229, I will explain to you in two words the connection betwixt this young woman and me. a 1845 S. Smith Sk. Moral Philos. (1850) Lect. xix. 280, I never could find any man who could think for two minutes together. 1956 N. Marsh Off with his Head (1957) v. 92, I wonder if I may have two words with Dame Alice Mardian? |
II. n. 1. The abstract number equal to one and one. Also in phrases, as
two and two make four, used as a typically obvious or undeniable statement;
to put two and two together, to consider two or several facts together and draw an inference; to reason about something and come to a conclusion (
cf. put v. 52 e).
| 1697 Collier Ess. Mor. Subj. ii. (1703) 85 The..notion..is as clear as that two and two makes four. 1848 Thackeray Bk. Snobs xvii, When will you acknowledge that two and two make four, and call a pikestaff a pikestaff? 1849 Lytton Caxtons II. xii. i. 254 If they saw that, in proportion to their civility to me, they were depopulated by you, they would put two and two together and renounce my acquaintance. 1855 Thackeray Newcomes xlix, Putting two and two together..it was not difficult..to guess who the expected Marquis was. 1875 Whitney Life Lang. 279 Mathematics began with the apprehension that one and one are two. 1898 W. W. Jacobs Sea Urchins, Disbursem. Sheet (1906) 138 Twenty-eight twos equals fifty-six. |
b. The figure (2) denoting this number.
| 1877 Daily News 21 Nov. 5/5 Two and two don't always make four, but sometimes 22. 1886 Punch 23 Feb. 84/2 ‘2222’. Four twos! |
c. A person or thing denoted by this number, usually as being the second in a series. Also
number two.
| 1890 [see number n. 5]. 1890 Eng. Illustr. Mag. Apr. 499 Smith who rowed two in the last University race. |
2. A group or set of two persons or things; a pair, couple. Usually in
pl.| a 1585 Polwart Flyting w. Montgomerie 208 In anes and twaes. 1611 Shakes. Wint. T. i. ii. 438 By twoes, and threes. 1625 in Rymer Foedera (1726) XVIII. 237/1 Eighte greate Rocke Rubies and twenty greate Pearles sett in twoes. a 1758 Ramsay Fables xvii. 20 Pike out joys by twas and threes. 1865 Kingsley Herew. xxxiv, They would lodge by twos and threes..in the lonely farmhouse. 1902 V. Jacob Sheep-Stealers ix, The people dispersed in twos and threes. |
b. A card or domino, or the side of a die, marked with two pips or spots.
| a 1500 Brome Bk. 17 Ȝe that haue sys, dewes, and too. 1680 Cotton Compl. Gamester (ed. 2) 12 You have..turn'd up two two's, or two treys. Mod. He took the trick with the two of trumps. |
c. In military drill, A set of two men forming a unit in wheeling.
| 1796 Instr. & Reg. Cavalry (1813) 106 The two's must first wheel up, and then break into three's, and close up. 1833 Regul. Instr. Cavalry i. Plate 16 Twos from the Right at three horses length distance. |
d. Cricket. A hit for which two runs are scored.
| 1881 Daily News 21 June 3/7 A capital innings, which included seven fours, a three, and four twos. |
e. slang or
colloq. Two pennyworth (of spirits).
| 1894 Henty Dorothy's Double i, I don't mind if I do take a two of gin with you. 1896 Daily News 23 Sept. 3/5 He had had six twos of whiskey. |
f. two-at-length, a tandem.
| 1823 E. Nares Heraldic Anomalies (1824) I. 355 Driving their fours-in-hand, and twos-at-length. |
g. in two twos: in a very short time; directly, immediately.
slang or
colloq. Also
in two ups (
Austral. colloq.)
= in two shakes s.v. shake n.1 2 h.
| 1838 Haliburton Clockm. Ser. ii. xiv. 211 The press can lash us up to a fury here in two twos any day. Ibid. xxi. 315 They'd soon set these matters right in two twos. 1882 Stevenson New Arab. Nts. II. 112 The business was over in two twos. 1934 T. Wood Cobbers iii. 25 He said we'd be there in two ups. 1941 Baker Dict. Austral. Slang 79 Two ups, in, in a brief space of time. 1967 J. Morrison in Coast to Coast 1965–6 133 Too close to dark now, Mister, but we'll have you out of that in two ups in the morning. |
† III. adv. = twice 2; followed by
so and a word expressing quantity
= twice as (much, etc.).
Obs.| c 900 O.E. Chron. an. 897 Lang scipu..þa wæron fulneah tu swa lange swa þa oðru. 13.. Coer de L. 3128 The hethenes wer twoo so fele. c 1350 Lybeaus Disc. 1446 Now am y two so lyght. c 1420 Sir Amadace (Camden) l, He wold gif hom toe so muche..As any lord. |
IV. Combinations (unlimited in number; the following are examples).
1. a. Adjectives formed of
two with a
n. in sense ‘of, pertaining to, consisting of, having, containing, measuring, etc. two of the things named’, as
two-anna (of the value of two annas),
two-bar,
two-base,
two-bearing,
two-beat (also
ellipt. as
n.),
two-bed,
two-berth,
two-blade,
two-bond,
two-bout (formed by two bouts of the plough),
two-bushel,
two-car,
two-centre,
two-chamber,
two-channel,
two-colour (also
fig.),
two-column,
two-component,
two-cultures (
cf. culture n. 5 c),
two-cylinder,
two-day,
two-deck,
two-digit,
two-dollar (also
fig.),
two-door,
two-drift (
drift n. 2 f),
two-electrode,
two-figure,
two-floor,
two-fluid,
two-front,
two-gallon,
two-groove,
two-guinea,
two-hour,
two-inch,
two-income,
† two-kind,
two-lane (
lane n. 2 d),
two-level,
two-light (
light n. 10),
two-man,
two-mast,
two-member,
two-mile,
two-minute,
two-needle(s),
two-ounce,
two-pack,
two-part,
two-party,
two-pedal,
two-person,
two-phase (
phase n. 3;
cf. three-
phase),
two-piano,
two-pin,
two-place,
two-ply (
ply n. 1),
two-point,
two-position,
two-pound,
two-quart,
two-rail,
two-reel,
two-room,
two-row,
two-seat,
two-sex,
two-shilling,
two-speed,
two-stage,
two-stall,
two-story (also
two-storey),
two-stripe,
two-syllable,
two-term,
two-tier (
usu. fig.),
two-topsail,
two-track (also
fig.),
two-volume,
two-wheel,
two-wire,
two-word.
b. Parasynthetic adjectives formed on similar collocations, usually with
-ed2, in sense ‘having or characterized by two of the things named’, as
two-arched,
two-armed,
two-banked,
two-barred,
two-barrelled,
two-bedded,
two-bristled,
two-capsuled,
two-celled,
two-chambered,
two-coloured,
two-columned,
two-decked,
two-dimensioned,
two-engined,
two-fingered,
two-flowered,
two-forked,
two-formed,
two-framed,
two-fronted,
two-grained,
two-grooved,
two-gunned,
two-handled,
two-horned,
two-horsed,
two-humped,
two-lobed,
two-masted,
two-membered,
two-named,
two-necked,
two-nerved,
two-oared,
two-peaked,
two-petaled,
two-pronged (also
fig.),
two-ranked,
two-roomed,
two-rowed,
two-seated,
two-seeded,
two-shanked,
two-shaped,
two-spined,
two-spotted,
two-stalled,
two-storied (also
two-storeyed),
two-stranded,
two-stringed,
two-sworded,
two-termed,
two-tiered,
two-tined,
two-toed,
two-toothed,
two-topped,
two-valved,
two-wheeled,
two-winged; also with other endings, as
two-handy (see
two-handed),
two-monthly (see 2).
c. Parasynthetic
ns. in
-er1, as
two-feeder,
two-hitter (
U.S.),
two-master (a two-masted vessel),
two-mover (
mover1 7),
two-parter,
two-pounder,
two-reeler,
two-striper (see
striper 1),
two-wheeler; see also
two-yearer in 2,
two-decker, two-hander.
d. Adjectives formed of
two in adverbial relation to an
adj. or
pple. (
= in two, doubly), as
two-cleft,
two-ploughed,
two-soused,
two-twisted: see also
two-high in 2,
two-forked, two-parted.
e. Adjs. and
ns. formed from phrases, as
two-and-a-half-inch,
two-days-old,
two-feet-nine adjs.;
two-and-a-half striper (see
striper 1),
two-and-two (
cf. sense I. 2 d);
† two-face-bearer (
cf. two-faced),
two-in-oneness,
two-plus-two,
two-pound-tenner,
two-to-one.
| 1899 Westm. Gaz. 9 Feb. 4/2 That hatch was of *two-and-a-half inch teak. |
| 1861 ‘R. Harrington’ Swimming p. iii, They [sc. school children] often passed a river when out for a miserable *two-and-two walk. |
| 1882 F. M. Crawford Mr. Isaacs xi, A *two-anna bit. |
| 1897 W. C. Hazlitt 4 Generations II. 183 The *two-arched bridge at Rugby. |
| 1725 Ramsay Gentle Sheph. v. iii. Prol., Sir William fills the *twa-arm'd chair. 1957 J. S. Bruner Beyond Information Given (1974) i. 35 The experiment is done on a conventional two-armed bandit, the subject having the task of betting on whether a light will appear on the left or on the right. |
| 1935 L. MacNeice Poems 25 Poetry is not only the bridging of *two-banked rivers. |
| 1967 ‘M. Hunter’ Cambridgeshire Disaster x. 65 He warmed his hands briefly at the two-bar fire. |
| 1894 R. B. Sharpe Handbk. Birds Gt. Brit. I. 59 The *two-barred Crossbill. Loxia bifasciata. |
| 1852 Mundy Our Antipodes (1857) 114 *Two-barrelled guns. |
| 1880 N. Brooks Fairport Nine 184 Ned made a fine *two base hit which brought Watson home amidst great excitement. 1974 J. H. Subak-Sharpe et al. in Carlile & Skehol Evolution in Microbial World 132 Correlations exist between three-base sequences (that is codons) in messenger RNA and two-base sequences in the DNA coding for that Messenger RNA. |
| 1922 Times 20 June 8/5 A short *two-bearing auxiliary shaft. 1960 E. L. Delmar-Morgan Cruising Yacht Equipment & Navigation i. 20 The principle.., as with all two-bearing fixes, attains its best accuracy when the position lines are 90 deg. to each other. |
| 1938 Swing July 18/2 *Two-beat swing.., swing in which the accent is on the second or fourth beats. 1978 Detroit Free Press 16 Apr. 11 c/2 Chet Bogan plays two-beat, Dixiebelle sing same. |
| 1792 H. Newdigate Let. Feb. in A. E. Newdigate-Newdegate Cheverels (1898) viii. 110 She..shew'd me a neat *2 bed Garret where I dare say we shall sleep as well as in a Palace. 1962 E. Snow Other Side of River (1963) lx. 461 Bachelor quarters varied from small two-bed to larger four-bed and six-bed rooms. |
| 1784 H. Newdigate Let. in A. E. Newdigate-Newdegate Cheverels (1898) iv. 59 We have obtained to Sleep to-night in a tollerable *two bedded Room. 1788 J. Woodforde Diary 19 May (1927) III. 26, I slept at the Kings Head, in a two bedded Room. 1843 Borrow Bible in Spain vii. 42 A large two-bedded room. |
| 1969 M. Pugh Last Place Left xxi. 164 He made out sleeper tickets for us..and we shared a *two-berth compartment. |
| 1967 Jane's Surface Skimmer Systems 1967–68 9/1 Propulsion is provided by two *two-blade metal variable pitch propellers. 1983 Flight Internat. 10 Sept. 703/1 A pair of two-blade teetering rotors are mounted 50° apart. |
| 1900 Daily News 13 Oct. 6/4 The propeller is *two-bladed. |
| 1674 Ray Collect. Words, Mann. Wire Work 133 A *two-bond wire as big as a great pack-thread. |
| 1805 R. W. Dickson Pract. Agric. I. 409 The *two-bout ridges, as they are called, may be the most advantageous. |
| 1681 Grew Musæum i. vii. i. 156 The *Two-Bristled-Fly. |
| 1796 W. H. Marshall W. England II. 61 The Corn Market well filled with long *two-bushel bags; chiefly of wheat. |
| 1793 Martyn Lang. Bot., *Two-capsuled. |
| 1927 Sat. Even. Post 9 Apr. 89 This is a *two-car country. 1961 M. Beadle These Ruins are Inhabited (1963) viii. 105 Two-car families are rare in England. |
| 1793 Martyn Lang. Bot., Bilocular pericarp..*two-celled, divided into two cells internally... Some seeds are also two-celled. |
| 1964 J. W. Linnett Electronic Struct. Molecules ix. 152 Sovers showed that a very good description of the excited states could also be achieved by employing *two-centre bonding and anti-bonding orbitals only. |
| 1898 Daily News 16 Feb. 7/6 The advantages or disadvantages of a bi-cameral system,..a *two-Chamber system. |
| 1851 Richardson Geol. viii. (1855) 229 A *two-chambered heart. 1888 Bryce Amer. Commw. II. ii. xl. 86 Its two-chambered legislature. |
| 1939 Florida (Federal Writers' Project) i. 75 *Two-channel highways divided by a parkway to reduce the menaces of bright lights and head-on collisions. 1973 G. Talbot Ten Seconds from Now (1974) xvi. 203 A blaring juke-box and two-channel television. 1979 H. Kissinger White House Years xx. 827 The two-channel system and its significance. |
| 1793 Martyn Lang. Bot., *Two-cleft, or Bifid... Utricularia is an instance of the two-cleft perianth. |
| 1907 T. Eaton & Co. Catal. Spring & Summer 43/1 Men's fancy Sweaters,..medium weight, *two color effect. 1925 I. A. Richards Princ. Lit. Crit. xxvii. 211 Macbeth..is a highly successful, easily apprehended, two-colour melodrama. 1967 E. Chambers Photolitho-Offset xv. 236 The wide use of lithography for colour work has resulted in the development of two-colour machines. |
| 1648 Hexham ii, Twee-verwigh, *Two-coloured, or Partie-coloured. 1827 Griffith Cuvier's Anim. Kingd. V. 251 Sciurus Bicolor (Two-coloured Squirrel). 1885 W. Pater Marius II. xx, A two-sided or two-coloured thing. |
| 1916 E. Wallace Let. 13 Nov. in M. Gilbert Winston S. Churchill (1972) III. Compan. ii. 1583 Do a *two column story. |
| 1922 Joyce Ulysses 465 Tom Rochford..jumps from his *two-columned machine. |
| 1956 Nature 18 Feb. 328/2 Only *two-component solvent systems were investigated. |
| 1966 Listener 1 Sept. 297/1 As Margaret Mead puts it: ‘The recent *two-cultures discussion is essentially a lament about..lack of communication.’ |
| 1901 Westm. Gaz. 9 Dec. 8/2 Rigal, on his *two-cylinder, 12-h.p. tricycle. |
| 1898 Harper's Mag. XCVI. 829 They..can only make *two-day..cruises. |
| 1868 Swinburne Blake 9 The *two-days-old baby. |
| 1797 Encycl. Brit. (ed. 3) XVII. 403/2 In all *two-deck ships it [the fire hearth] is placed under the forecastle. 1960 Farmer & Stockbreeder 29 Mar. 93/1 Sending the farm two-deck lorry to the south-west and back. |
| 1883 Man. Seamanship for Boys' Training Ships (Admiralty) (1886) 2 A *two-decked ship. So named from having two gun decks below the upper deck. |
| 1963 Rep. Comm. Inquiry Decimal Currency 9 in Parl. Papers 1962–3 (Cmnd. 2145) XI. 195 People find considerably greater difficulty in remembering and manipulating three-digit numbers than *two-digit numbers. |
| 1885 W. K. Clifford Common Sense Exact Sc. 223 *Two-dimensioned space. |
| 1793 Deb. Congr. U.S. 3 Jan. (1849) 788 The miserable *two-dollar men who were raised for a six months' service. 1873 T. B. Hazard Nailer Tom's Diary (1930) 414/2 Went to Thomas Rodmans Store to get a two dollar bill changed. 1929 Century Mag. Autumn 68 He hated what he called ‘two-dollar words’ and ‘high hat’ manners. |
| 1908 Sears, Roebuck Catal. 61/1 The *two-door automatic Model ‘A’ desk cabinet. 1982 Sunday Tel. 1 Aug. 6/2 You can get a 1.8 litre, two-door, four-seat sports saloon for {pstlg}5,950. |
| 1926 H. Macpherson Mod. Astron. 156 The results of this study of stars of very large proper motion, scattered all over the sky, were strongly in support of the *two-drift hypothesis. |
| 1921 Wireless World IX. 187/1 The *two-electrode Fleming valve. |
| 1931 19th Cent. Feb. 154 The standard *two-engined type. 1966 D. Francis Flying Finish v. 64 Small two-engined job..cost nearly thirty-five pounds per flying hour to hire. |
| c 1515 Cocke Lorell's B. 11 Flaterers, and *two face berers. |
| 1886 Daily News 18 Oct. 7/2 News Machine Wanted, fast *two-feeder. |
| 1905 Daily Chron. 13 July 5/1 What is known as the *two-feet-nine seam. |
| 1890 W. J. Gordon Foundry 223 The percentage of profit..may be a fraction with a *two-figure denominator. 1898 F. M. Hueffer in Contemp. Rev. Aug. 182 A two-figure sketch by Burne-Jones. |
| 1910 W. de la Mare Three Mulla-Mulgars 47 A behemothian bull-Ephelanto..wound his long, *two-fingered trunk round Nod's belly. 1978 Church Times 27 Jan. 5/3 What she was doing was making a kind of ‘I'm as good as you, see if I'm not’ two-fingered gesture of defiance at society. 1981 H. Carpenter W. H. Auden (1983) ii. iv. 341 He was an adequate two-fingered typist. |
| 1900 Daily News 11 July 7/5 A..*two-floor building. |
| 1793 Martyn Lang. Bot., *Two-flowered peduncle. 1909 Daily Chron. 20 Mar. 3/5 Here you first find the two-flowered yellow violet..3,500 feet above the level of the sea. |
| 1866 R. M. Ferguson Electr. (1870) §31 The *two-fluid theory of Dufay and Symmers, and the one-fluid theory of Franklin. 1876 Preece & Sivewright Telegraphy 244 Two-fluid batteries. |
| 1743 Francis tr. Hor., Odes ii. xx. 2 A *two-form'd poet. |
| 1934 Dylan Thomas in Criterion Oct. 28 The *two framed globe that spun into a score. |
| 1946 New Yorker 23 Mar. 74/2 One of those *two-front wars which ‘Mein Kampf’ had sensibly argued couldn't be won. |
| 1856 J. G. Whittier Panorama 12 The *two-fronted Future... To-day, your servant, subject to your will; To-morrow, master, or for good or ill. |
| 1693 T. Power in Dryden's Juvenal xii. (1697) 307 A *two Gallon Draught. |
| 1793 Martyn Lang. Bot., Dicoccous or *two-grained capsule... Consisting of two cohering grains or cells, with one seed in each. |
| 1846 Greener Sc. Gunnery 357 A *two-grooved rifle. |
| 1803 Hatchett in Phil. Trans. XCIII. 137 A *two-guinea piece. 1818 Cobbett Pol. Reg. XXXIII. 368 A man, who, bred to the bar, had never had a two-guinea fee in his life. |
| 1936 Dylan Thomas Twenty-Five Poems 44 And from the windy West came *two-gunned Gabriel. 1949 Time 10 Oct. 47/2 Accompanied by a grim, 200-lb., two-gunned Big Spring sheriff. |
| 1839 Ure Dict. Arts 764 The fleshing knife; a large *two-handled implement [with] which the hide is scraped. 1877 J. D. Chambers Div. Worship 258 A two-handled Chalice. |
| 1974 State (Columbia, S. Carolina) 26 Apr. 4-b/3 Paul Splittorff pitched a *two-hitter for seven innings. |
| 1561 J. Daus tr. Bullinger on Apoc. (1573) 5 b, The old seuen-headed, and the new *twohorned beast. 1628 A. Leighton Zion's Plea agst. Prelacy ix. (1842) 121 A two-horned idol, pushing both the Church and Commonwealth. 1781 Pennant Hist. Quad. I. 136 Two-horned Rhinoceros. 1793 Martyn Lang. Bot., Bicornes (two-horned). Plants with anthers having two horns. 1848 Mill Pol. Econ. ii. viii. §3 (1876) 189 A cowhouse for two-horned cattle. |
| 1939 W. B. Yeats On Boiler 31 There in a *two horsed carriage..Great bladdered Emer sat. |
| 1880 ‘Mark Twain’ Tramp Abr. xix. 171 A *two-hour pedestrian excursion. 1900 Westm. Gaz. 15 Nov. 2/1 We..did not dismount except for a two-hour halt till three p.m. |
| 1834 Nat. Philos. III. Phys. Geog. 55/2 (Usef. Knowl. Soc.) The *two-humped or Bactrian camel. |
| 1639 Crabtree Lect. 184, I will make you looke through a *two inch boord [i.e. pillory]. 1748 Anson's Voy. iii. viii. 380 A strong net-work of two inch rope. 1859 F. A. Griffiths Artil. Man. (1862) 309 A two-inch rope means a rope two inches in circumference. 1868 Rep. U.S. Commissioner Agric. (1869) 328 A fountain capable of filling..a two-inch pipe. |
| 1969 Guardian 31 Mar. 2/1 The *two-income family spends 15 per cent more on alcohol. |
| 1895 Hardy Jude vi. ii. 404 O my comrade, our perfect union—our *two-in-oneness—is now stained with blood! |
| 1613 W. Browne Brit. Past. i. iv, The *two-kinde Bat. |
| 1957 J. Kerouac On Road (1958) ii. viii. 156 On a *two-lane highway to Baton Rouge in purple darkness. |
| 1882 Vines Sachs' Bot. 466 Divisions take place in the epidermal cells by..which the wall becomes *two-layered. |
| 1957 H. Whitehall in N. Frye Sound & Poetry ii. 142 Metrical patterns..based on the *two-level contrast of stressed versus unstressed syllables. 1981 Beautiful Brit. Columbia Summer 23/1 A glassed-in two-level public seating area provides a view of busy False Creek. |
| 1845 S. R. Glynne Notes Churches of Cheshire (Chetham Soc.) (1894) 56 There are large gargoyles at the angles..; in the second stage a *two-light window. 1859 Cornwallis Panorama New World I. 221 The sunshine glancing through a two-light window. |
| 1793 Martyn Lang. Bot., *Two-lobed leaf. 1847 W. E. Steele Field Bot. 167 Neottia,..lip dependant, 2-lobed. |
| 1895 Outing (U.S.) XXVI. 399/1 A *two-man balloon. 1911 Q. Rev. Jan. 215 The two-man Government..becomes one-man Government. |
| 1775 Dalrymple in Phil. Trans. LXVIII. 400 A small *two-mast vessel. |
| 1774 Hull Deck Act 33 *Two-masted vessels. |
| 1899 Quiller-Couch Ship of Stars xxiv, That there *two-master's got a fool for skipper. |
| 1924 O. Jespersen Philos. Gram. xxii. 306 Every sentence is said to be composed of two parts, Subject and Predicate... Besides such *two-member sentences..we may have one-member sentences. 1967 R. S. Churchill Winston S. Churchill II. viii. 261 The city of Dundee in 1908..was, like Oldham, a two-member, primarily working-class, constituency. |
| 1905 Westm. Gaz. 29 Nov. 2/2 A *two-membered constituency. 1909 R. Law Tests of Life i. 2 Two-membered sentences. |
| 1875 W. S. Hayward Love agst. World 117 A *two-mile spin. |
| 1895 Outing (U.S.) XXVII. 48/1 A *two-minute gait [i.e. at the rate of a mile in 2 minutes; cf. two-forty in 2]. 1905 Westm. Gaz. 23 Dec. 2/3 There were two-minute intervals between the start of each bob. |
| 1868 Westm. Chess Club Papers I. 47 A *two-mover now knocks me down. 1891 Athenæum 31 Jan. 148/1 Thirty-six two-movers. |
| 1661 T. Ross Silius Italicus i. 13 By the Banks of *two-nam'd Ister. 1931 R. Graves To Whom Else? 17 Two-named one, how shall I call you without duplicity? |
| 1854 J. Scoffern in Orr's Circ. Sc., Chem. 14 The mouths of a *two-necked bottle. |
| 1890 Billings Med. Dict., *Two-needles operation, tearing through a secondary cataract by two needles introduced from opposite sides. 1891 Cent. Dict., Two-needle operation. |
| 1833 Hooker in Smith Eng. Flora V. i. 85 Leaves..*two-nerved at the base. |
| 1899 Doyle Duet Ded., The little *two-oared boats. |
| 1838 Dickens O. Twist xxiii, A *two-ounce tin tea-caddy. |
| 1952 V. Wilkins King Reluctant i. ix. 131 The involved *two-pack patience game known as ‘Maréchal Saxe’. 1977 Listener 10 Mar. 295/2 He is a two-pack smoker, drinks on occasion to keep going. |
| 1928 Daily Tel. 11 Dec. 17/4 ‘*Two-part tariffs’ will be introduced by the County of London Electric Supply Co. Ltd. from Jan. 1 for domestic and business consumers. |
| 1939 F. Scott Fitzgerald Let. 8 June (1964) 106, I have..over half-finished what will be a *two-parter for The Saturday Evening Post. 1984 J. Wain in Listener 28 June 30/2 They are making two plays out of it, or, perhaps more exactly, a three-hour two-parter. |
| 1901 Edin. Rev. Oct. 506 It is..premature to suppose..that the *two-party system has..broken up. |
| 1861 Paley æschylus (ed. 2) Chœroph. 1026 note, The *two-peaked hill of Parnassus. |
| 1961 New Scientist 5 Jan. 50/3 Mr. Saunders's *two-pedal system..interested me, so I tried it on my car. |
| 1920 D. H. Lawrence Lost Girl vii. 134 Madame and the German did a screaming *two-person farce. 1977 New Yorker 17 Oct. 93/1 A new playwright..made a pleasing début on Broadway..with a harsh little two-person comedy. |
| 1793 Martyn Lang. Bot., *Two-petalled corolla. |
| 1909 Cent. Dict. Suppl., *Two-phase circuit..Two-phase generator..Two-phase system. |
| 1952 S. Kauffmann Philanderer xv. 242 Turning the phonograph very low, he played the Mozart *two-piano concerto. 1978 Ld. Drogheda Double Harness x. 92 During the two years that she had been in America, Joan had become a very active pianist, giving a considerable number of two-piano concerts with her partner Harold Triggs. |
| 1894 D. Salomons Electr. Light Installations (ed. 7) II. vi. 233 The plug to be used with this connector is of the *two-pin type. 1962 B.S.I. News Feb. 24/1 Three proposals were considered for a standard two-pin plug for use with all-insulated and double-insulated appliances. |
| 1948 H. Reichenbach Elem. Symbolic Logic §17. 83 Both functions are *two-place functions; i.e. they possess two arguments. 1963 W. V. Quine Set Theory §1. 13 Suppose the only primitive predicate of some theory is a two-place predicate. |
| 1856 Farmer's Mag. Jan. 20 *Two-plowed furrows (that is, one plowed under another). |
| 1966 Publ. Amer. Dial. Soc. 1964 xlii. 10 *Two-plus-two,..two-seater with capacity to hold two additional passengers in back. 1977 Lancashire Life Mar. 118/3 The 104ZS is cramped in the back and is more of a two-plus-two than a proper four seater. |
| 1847 Webster, *Two-ply..double; consisting of two thicknesses, as cloth. |
| 1960 Farmer & Stockbreeder 1 Mar. 131/1 Experience has proved this *two-point system. 1972 J. Potter Going West 180 The plane made a jerky two-point landing. |
| 1951 *Two-position [see bistable a.]. 1960 Farmer & Stockbreeder 8 Mar. 108/2 Two-position Hitch. Easy for field or transport. |
| 1552 Huloet, *Two pounde weight, dipondium. 1887 Roy. Proclam. in Standard 18 May 3/2 Every Two Pound Piece should have the same obverse and reverse impression..as the Five Pound Piece. |
| 1771 tr. Pernety's Voy. Malouine Isl. in Ann. Reg. (1771) ii. 15/1 Round stones, of the size of a *two-pounder ball. |
| 1836–9 Dickens Sk. Boz, Dancing Acad., Mr. Augustus Cooper had ordered a new coat..a *two-pound-tenner. |
| 1825 T. Hook Sayings Ser. ii. Man of Many Fr. (Colburn) 104 *Two-pronged forks. 1919 W. S. Churchill in M. Gilbert Winston S. Churchill (1977) IV. Compan. i. 535 With Mr Balfour's approval, I made the following two-pronged proposals. 1958 O. Caroe Pathans xxiii. 375 The success of the two-pronged advance by the Khaibar and the Kurram. |
| 1727 Fam. Dict. s.v. Fryars Balsam, Put..into a *Two-quart-Bottle. |
| 1844 Port Phillip Patriot 25 July 3/6 A *two rail fence. |
| 1793 Martyn Lang. Bot. s.v. Distichus, A distich or *two-ranked stem or stalk. 1857 T. Moore Handbk. Brit. Ferns (ed. 3) 38 Fructification forming two-ranked simple spikes. |
| 1929 Wodehouse Mr. Mulliner Speaking ix. 301 Come on, let's beef in or we'll be missing the educational *two-reel comic. 1978 Radio Times 18–24 Mar. 15/1 Within the next couple of years he made over 20 two-reel Westerns. |
| 1928 Sunday Express 3 June 4 The British Screen *two-reeler ‘Homes of Our King’. 1979 Guardian 4 Aug. 9/2 He had made a few modest pictures, two-reelers mostly. |
| 1897 Hughes Medit. Malta etc. Fever ii. 62 The staff-sergeant..occupied a *two-room quarter. |
| 1897 Daily News 14 Apr. 5/1 A *two-roomed home. |
| 1868 Rep. U.S. Commissioner Agric. (1869) 251 The Strength of *Two-Row Hedges when Pleached. |
| 1793 Martyn Lang. Bot., Two-ranked or *Two-rowed. 1812 Sir J. Sinclair Syst. Husb. Scot. i. 247 Two-rowed barley. 1868 Rep. U.S. Commissioner Agric. (1869) 249 Two-rowed hedges. |
| 1895 Montgomery Ward Catal. Spring & Summer 580/2 *Two-seat business wagons. |
| 1880 W. Whitman Daybks. & Notebks. (1978) III. 642 Heavy *two-seated covered voitures. 1936 G. B. Shaw Six of Calais 89 Between them, near the King's pavilion, is a two-seated chair of state for public audiences. |
| 1793 Martyn Lang. Bot., *Two-seeded fruit. |
| 1933 O. Jespersen Essent. Eng. Gram. xix. 192 When a special indication of sex is wanted with one of the *two-sex words, this can always be done by the addition of the adjectives male and female, respectively: a male reader, a female cousin,..etc. 1973 Talamini & Page Sport & Society v. 271 To note [sport's] emergence as a two-sex activity..should not obscure the persistence in sport of male domination, male prejudice, and discrimination against girls and women. |
| 1621 G. Sandys Ovid's Met. viii. (1626) 156 *Two-shankt Compasses. 1756 P. Browne Jamaica 328 The larger Passion⁓flower with two-shanked leaves. |
| 1613 Heywood Silver Age iii. Wks. 1874 III. 143 The *two-shap't Centaurs. 1717 Addison tr. Ovid ii. Coronis 29 The two-shap'd Ericthonius. |
| 1789 J. Woodforde Diary 11 June (1927) III. 112 Briton also went into the *2 Shilling Gallery. 1880 Sat. Rev. 2 Oct. 424/1 Our two-shilling dinner. 1882 A. Somerville in G. Smith Mod. Apostle x. (1891) 240 Some two-shilling pieces. |
| a 1625 Fletcher Bloody Bro. iv. ii, Wholsom *two-sous'd petitoes. |
| 1875 Knight Dict. Mech., *Two-speed Pulley, a variable speed arrangement consisting of two fast pulleys, the shaft of one being tubular and sleeved upon that of the other. 1888 Encycl. Brit. XXIII. 560 Two-speed gears. |
| 1785 Pennant Arct. Zool. II. Suppl. 132 Stickleback. *Two-spined. 1803 Shaw Gen. Zool. IV. 476 Two-spined Sparus. Ibid. 608 Two-spined Stickleback. |
| 1802 Bingley Anim. Biog. (1813) III. 130 The seven-spotted and *two-spotted lady-bug. |
| 1944 R. V. Jones Most Secret War (1978) xlv. 460 A *two-stage rocket of about 150 tons starting weight could deliver a 1 ton warhead to nearly 3,000 miles range. 1963 Ann. Reg. 1962 183 The Skybolt was a two-stage solid fuel missile. 1979 Dædalus Summer 50 ‘Hypocrisy displayed’, then, is a two-stage process, a masking followed by an unmasking. |
| 1859 W. Collins Q. of Hearts I. 242 A *two-stall stable. |
| 1833 Loudon Encycl. Archit. §1829 A *two-stalled stable. |
| 1854 M. Cummins Lamplighter iii. 13 A decent *two-storied house. 1874 W. Black Princess of Thule (ed. 2) I. i. 12 It was a square, two-storeyed substantial building of stone. 1878 Smiles Robt. Dick ii. 9 A two-storied..house. 1977 P. G. Winslow Witch Hill Murder ii. xvi. 212 The lovely, two-storeyed drawing-room. |
| 1796 Aurora (Philadelphia) 15 Apr., That certain one-story Frame shop in front, and *Two Story Frame messuage. 1866 A. D. Richardson Secret Service ii. 38 We took a two-story car of the Baronne street railway. 1880 J. Dunbar Pract. Papermaker 9 A two-storey building. 1977 Times 9 Sept. 2/3 Spacious late-nineteenth-century two-storey terrace houses. 1982 W. Boyd Ice-Cream War (1983) ii. ii. 120 He passed the..two-storey building. |
| 1851 H. Melville Moby Dick I. ix. 65 Shipmates, it is a *two-stranded lesson. 1976 P. Collard Development Microbiol. v. 64 Synthetic two-stranded RNA polyinosinic acid-polycytidylic acid. |
| 1776 Burney Hist. Mus. I. 206 This dichord, or *two-stringed instrument. |
| 1918 Jrnl. R. Naval Med. Service IV. 317 A ‘*two-stripe doctor’. |
| 1860 W. Whitman in N.Y. Times 27 June 2/1 The Princes of Asia, swart-cheek'd princes, First comers, guests, *two-sworded princes. |
| 1891 S. Mostyn Curatica 47 Peace be to his manes—this, dear ladies, is a *two-syllable word. |
| 1933 A. N. Whitehead Adventures of Ideas xv. 230 Also we may well ask whether there are not subtle variations of meaning stretching far beyond the competence of the *two-term vocabulary—Judgment, Proposition. 1964 R. H. Robins Gen. Linguistics i. 26 A two-term relation between the word and the referent. 1968 Fox & Mayers Computing Methods for Scientists & Engineers i. 4 A better approach is to observe that, with a single integration by parts, we can find the two-term recurrence relation. 1981 Times 6 Aug. 8/7 A programme which can be implemented only by a two-term Government. |
| 1933 Mind LXII. 45 If we consider Russia is happy, England fears France, Germany prefers England to France, Italy believes that Germany prefers England to France, we see that these facts form a series in that the first is one-termed, the second *two-termed, the third three-termed and the fourth four-termed. 1964 E. Bach Introd. Transformational Gram. vii. 157 Prepositional phrase in English is usually a two-termed relation. |
| 1932 Times 26 Nov. 12/3 If their system were a *two-tier system, the element of uncertainty was reduced to a minimum. 1933 [see stack n. 1 d]. 1937 Burlington Mag. Oct. 194/1 Ionic impost capitals,..two-tier capitals. 1969 Punch 1 Jan. 26/3 It is now working a good deal harder and will work even harder still when the reforms with their two-tier system of voting and non-voting but speaking Peers come into force. 1975 J. P. Morgan House of Lords & Labour Govt. ii. 75 The House can be persistent when an issue catches its imagination—favourites of the 1966–70 Parliament were decimal currency, the two-tier postal service, and the anti-Stansted campaign. |
| 1969 Listener 23 Jan. 103/2 The debate is *two-tiered: the violence of Chicago..and the violence of the TV shows. 1979 Arizona Daily Star 5 Aug. d2/2 The Natural Gas Policy Act of 1978..wiped out the two-tiered pricing structure. |
| 1601 Holland Pliny xviii. vi. I. 557 If it be stonie, it would be digged with a mattocke or *two tined forkes. |
| 1781 Pennant Hist. Quad. II. 496 *Two-toed S[loth] with a round head. 1872 Coues N. Amer. Birds 49 The two-toed birds. |
| 1910 Motor Man. (ed. 12) iii. 75 The layshaft is driven by a chain instead of the usual *two-to-one gear wheels. 1975 New Yorker 17 Nov. 117/1 The Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, in a two-to-one vote, upheld the claim. |
| 1742 W. Ellis Mod. Husbandman Sept. xxvi. 124 These are the right profitable sort for Fatting, and not the *two-toothed sheep. 1802 R. Hall Elem. Bot. 192 Two-toothed, bidentatus. 1828 Stark Elem. Nat. Hist. II. 57 Shell fusiform,..aperture two-toothed. |
| 1616 Chapman Homer's Hymne to Apollo 47 Their farr-stretcht valleys, and their *two-topt Hill. 1636 T. Heywood in Ann. Dubrensia (1877) 69 Two-top't Pernassus. 1902 J. Torrance Story Marātha Missions vii. 62 The two-topped hill of Sitabaldi. |
| 1811 Boston Patriot 23 Jan. 3/2 A *two top-sail sch[ooner] was at H Hole on Saturday. 1944 J. Masefield New Chum 137 There used to be that kind of schooner. She was called a ‘two-topsail schooner’ or a ‘maintopsail schooner’. |
| 1934 New Statesman 27 Oct. 602/2 It is useless approaching these circles with *two-track class-war propaganda. 1961 G. A. Briggs A to Z in Audio 200 Regular supplies of high quality 7½{pp}/sec pre-recorded stereo tapes will be available, giving twice the playing time of previous two-track issues. 1977 N.Y. Rev. Bks. 13 Oct. 18/1 Had President Kennedy been pursuing a ‘two-track’ policy of offering Castro friendship while plotting his murder? |
| 1649 Milton Eikon. xxvii, To whip us with his *two-twisted Scorpions, both temporal and spiritual Tyranny. |
| 1676 Hobbes Iliad 375 A high *two-valved door. 1771 Phil. Trans. LXI. 232 Two valved shells. 1889 Science-Gossip XXV. 219 Fruit,..two-valved, dehiscing longitudinally. |
| 1925 I. A. Richards Princ. Lit. Criticism 1 In a pamphlet or in a *two-volume work. 1978 Early Music Oct. 544/1 Silvestro Ganassi's two-volume treatise on the viol..is perhaps the most interesting and significant instrumental tutor to have survived from the 16th century. |
| 1744 W. Ellis Mod. Husbandman Jan. i. 16 He plowed up the Surface..with a *two-wheel pecked Share-Plough. 1800 Hull Advertiser 19 July 2/4 A new two-wheel cart barrow. |
| 1663 Butler Hud. i. ii. 328 A *two-wheel'd Chariot. 1733 Tull Horse-Hoeing Husb. xxi. 300 A common Two-Wheel'd-Plow. 1886 C. E. Pascoe Lond. of To-day xliii. (ed. 3) 376 Two-wheeled cabs. |
| 1861 Eng. Wom. Dom. Mag. III. 44 What they call a ‘gig’ in those parts—a tall *two-wheeler. |
| 1753 Chambers Cycl. Supp., Ox-fly,..a species of *two-winged fly. 1918 D. H. Lawrence New Poems 41 Who then sees the two-winged Boat down there? 1949 E. Pound Pisan Cantos lxxvi. 45 Benecomata dea Under the two-winged cloud. 1974 Encycl. Brit. Macropædia V. 819/1 Diptera, the two-winged, or ‘true’, flies. |
| 1930 Engineering 28 Feb. 278/3 Power distribution is at 230 volts in the *two-wire system. |
| 1961 W. F. Leopold in Saporta & Bastian Psycholinguistics (1961) 357/1 *Two-word verbs of the type ‘wake up’. 1977 N. Sahgal Situation in New Delhi xi. 115 They had labelled him with destructive little one and two-word flourishes that could smear an image for millions of readers. |
2. Special Combinations:
two-address a. Computers, having two addresses (see
quot. 1953);
two and eight Rhyming slang, a state (of agitation);
two-backed beast = the beast with two backs s.v. beast n. 4 b;
two-bagger N. Amer. Baseball, a hit that enables the batter to reach second base safely;
two-bill,
= twibill;
two-bit a. U.S. [
bit n.2 8 b], (
a) of the value of a quarter of a dollar; (
b)
fig., cheap, petty, worthless (
slang);
† two-blade(s = twayblade;
two-blocks adv. = block and block (
block n. 5 b),
chock-a-block (
chock adv. c);
two-body a. Physics, involving or pertaining to two objects or particles;
two-bottle a., applied to one who can drink two bottles of wine at a sitting;
two-by-four orig. U.S., a post or batten measuring 2 inches by 4 in cross-section; also (
U.S.)
fig. in
attrib. use: small, insignificant;
two-cent a. U.S., (
a) of the value of two cents; (
b)
fig. = two-bit (
b) above (
slang);
two cheers, catch
phr. expressing qualified enthusiasm
for something, as opposed to the traditional three cheers (see
three a. 1 g);
two-China(s) a. U.S. Pol., designating a proposal or policy for admitting to the United Nations representatives of both Communist China and Taiwan;
two-clang,
Acoustics [
clang n. 3], a compound tone consisting of two simple tones;
two-coat a., requiring two coats, as work in plastering and painting;
two cultures: see
culture n. 5 c;
two-cycle a., completing a series of operations in two cycles or strokes, as a gas-engine;
two-eared a., having two ears; two-handled;
two-egg a. = dizygotic a.;
two-ended a., having two ends (
spec. with different properties, as a magnet); hence
two-endedness;
two-eyed a., having two eyes; involving or adapted for the use of both eyes;
two-eyed stance Cricket (see
quot. 1924);
two-eyes (
U.S. local)
= twinberry (see
twin C.), from the two calyx-marks on the fruit (
Cent. Dict. 1891);
two-field a., denoting a system of agriculture in which two fields are cropped and fallowed alternately;
two-finger, one of a tribe in Surinam with deficient hands and feet (see
quot.);
two fingers, two fingers made into a V-sign as a coarse gesture of contempt;
two-fisted a., (
a) (
dial. or
colloq.), awkward with the hands, clumsy; (
b)
U.S. colloq., tough, aggressive; vigorous; (
c)
Lawn Tennis, of a backhand stroke: played with both hands on the racket;
two-for-his-heels, used jocularly for ‘knave’ (in allusion to the expression for the dealer's score on turning up a knave at cribbage: see
heel n.1 1 d);
two-forty,
U.S. colloq., an expression for a high speed (properly, at the rate of a mile in 2 min. 40 sec., formerly a ‘record’ pace for trotting);
two-four (usually {twoon4}),
Mus., denoting a ‘time’ or rhythm with two crotchets in a bar;
two-furrow a., adapted for ploughing two furrows at once;
two-group, a group of two,
e.g. of two sound-units, as syllables forming an iamb or trochee; so
two-grouping;
two-hearted a., double-hearted, deceitful;
two-heeled a., having two heels; in
quot., two-edged (
cf. heel n.1 7 b);
two-high a., having two rolls one over another, as a rolling-mill (
cf. three-high s.v. three B. III. 2);
two-holer N. Amer., a privy or lavatory accommodating two people;
two-horse a., (
a) drawn or worked by, or used with, two horses; (
b) (of a race or other contest) in which only two of the contestants are likely winners;
two-knot a., running two knots (see
knot n.1 3);
two-line,
two-lined adjs., (
a) in
Printing, extending through two lines, as a large capital letter; (
b) occupying two lines, being two lines long; (
c) underlined twice;
spec. applied to a notice of forthcoming parliamentary business in which the attendance of members is requested with two underlines, indicating less urgency than a three-line whip (now the strongest one);
two-lipped (
-lɪpt)
a., having two lips;
esp. in
Bot. of a corolla, calyx, etc.; bilabiate;
2LO (
tuːɛlˈəʊ) [
Lo(ndon], the call-sign of a radio station established in London in 1922 and taken over the same year by the newly-formed British Broadcasting Company, which used it as call-sign until 1924 and as a name of a programme service until 1930; the station itself;
two-lofted (
Sc. twa-)
a., two-storied;
two-meal a., (
a) of cheese: see
quots. (
cf. meal n.2 3 a); (
b) of or involving two meals a day;
two(-)minute(s') silence = silence n. 2 e;
two-monthly a., occurring every two months; see also
quot. 1867;
two nation(s), used, chiefly
attrib., with reference to two irreconcilable groups or factions within a nation;
two-oar, a two-oared boat;
two-one, a place in the upper division of the second class in a degree class-list; (a graduate having) an upper-second-class degree; also represented as 2(1), etc.;
two-pair a. (in full,
two-pair-of-stairs), situated above two ‘pairs’ or flights of stairs,
i.e. on the second floor; also
ellipt. as
n. (
scil. room);
two-piece a. and n., (a suit) consisting of two garments (as a jacket and trousers, or coat and dress) matching or meant to be worn together; (a swimming costume) consisting now of a brassière and briefs, a bikini; also (
U.S.)
two-piecer;
two-place a., applied to an aeroplane with seats for two people; so
two-placer;
† two-plait (
two plette), a double plait;
two-power standard (see
quot. 1910);
two-revolution a. Printing, applied to a cylinder press in which the impression cylinder rotates continuously, alternately printing and delivering sheets as the forme moves to and fro;
abbrev. two-rev (also
absol.);
two-rhythm, duple rhythm;
twos and threes, a children's chasing game for six or more players;
† two-sea'd a., situated between two seas (
tr. L.
bimaris);
two-seater, something (as a vehicle or settee) that has two seats;
freq. attrib.;
† two-shafted a., of cloth, woven with two web-shafts (see
shaft n.2 9, and
cf. three-
shafted);
two-shear,
a. of a sheep, that has been shorn twice;
n. a two-shear sheep; also, the time or age of the second shearing;
Two-shoes, nickname of the girl heroine of the History of Little Goody Two-shoes; hence, a quasi-proper name for a child;
two-shot, a cinema or television shot of two people together;
two-spot U.S., (
a) a playing card with two pips, a deuce; (
b) a two-dollar banknote; (
c)
transf., an insignificant or worthless person; a two-year prison sentence;
two-star a., (
a) given two stars in a grading system in which more stars indicate higher quality (
cf. star n.1 10 c); (
b) having or being a military rank that has two stars on the shoulder-piece of the uniform,
e.g. major-general or rear-admiral in the
U.S. (
cf. star n.1 6 c);
two-state a., capable of existing in either of two states or conditions;
two-step, (
a) a round dance characterized by sliding steps in duple rhythm; also, the music for such a dance; also
attrib.; also as
v. intr., to dance a two-step; (
b)
a., having or consisting of two successive actions; two-stage;
two-sticker colloq., a two-masted boat;
two-suiter, (
a)
Bridge (see
quot. 1923); (
b)
orig. U.S., a suitcase large enough to hold two suits and accessories;
two-tailed a., (
a) having two tails; (
b)
Statistics, applied to a test that tests for deviation from the null hypothesis in both directions;
cf. one-tailed adj. s.v. one numeral a.,
pron., etc. B. 33;
two-teeth,
-tooth,
a., applied to sheep of from one to two years old: having two full-grown permanent teeth, double-toothed; also as
n.;
two-throw a., having two throws, as a crank (see
throw n.2 2);
two-tone a., (
a) in two colours or two shades of the same colour; (
b) being or producing two notes,
usu. alternately at intervals; also
fig.; so
two-toned a., in the same sense;
two-tongued a., having two tongues;
fig. double-tongued, deceitful;
two-two, (
a) (
usu. represented as .22), used
attrib. and absol. to designate (ammunition for) a gun with a calibre of 0.22 inch; (
b) (also represented as 2(2), etc.), a place in the lower division of the second class in a degree class-list; see also sense II. 2 g;
two-water a.,
Naut., diluted with twice its bulk of water;
two-week dial., a fortnight;
two-year a., (
a)
= two-year-old; (
b) lasting or valid for two years; also
transf.;
two-yearer, (
a) a voyage lasting two years; (
b) a pupil who has been at (Harrow) school two years;
† two-yearing a., of a beast, two years old;
two-yearling, a beast of two years old; also
attrib.| 1948 *Two-address [see three-address adj. s.v. three a. and n. III. 2]. 1953 Computers & Automation Dec. 22 Two-address, in programming, a system of instructions whereby each complete instruction includes an operation and specifies the location of two registers, usually one containing an operand and the other the result of the operation. 1961 [see sequencing vbl. n.]. 1982 G. Lee Hardware to Software xx. 339 With 3-address instructions (as for 2-address), it is not necessary to have an accumulator. |
| 1938 ‘J. Curtis’ They drive by Night ix. 103 Give us a hand out, will you? I'm in a right *two and eight. 1960 M. Cecil Something in Common 129 Poor old Clinker! Bet she's in a proper two-and-eight! |
| a 1693 *Two-backed beast [see beast n. 4 b]. 1925 G. Greene Babbling April 5 The two-backed beast went trotting in my head. 1939 Dylan Thomas Map of Love 63 Here dwell, said Sam Rib, the two-backed beasts. He pointed to his map of Love. 1973 L. Snelling Heresy ii. i. 60 Hubby gor on to us. Came within an ace of catching us making the two-backed beast in his car. |
| 1880 Globe (San Francisco) 16 May 1/4 Willigrod, Smith and J. Whitney led at the bat, the two former getting in each a *two-bagger. 1946 N.Y. Herald Tribune 24 Mar. viii. 19/1, I hit a two-bagger with the bases full. |
| 1619 S. Atkinson Gold Mynes Scotl. (Bann. Cl.) 1 To digg the next ground under that sodd..with a mattocke, picke, or *towbill. 1714 Lond. Gaz. No. 5228/4 Henry Bray..did give..Edward Hurly..a mortal Wound on the Head with a Two-Bill. 1807 Vancouver Agric. Devon (1813) 127 The grubbing of roots is generally performed with the two-bill, or double-bitted mattock. 1888 Elworthy W. Somerset Word-bk., Two-bill, a double-ended mattock. Sometimes both ends are alike. |
| 1802 J. Drayton View South-Carolina 215 Hence the origin of this society; which, from the contributions, being a sum of money called two bitts, became known by the appellation of the *two bitt club. 1873 Harper's Mag. May 799 Thompson's Two-bit House, Front St. 1928 S. Lewis Man who knew Coolidge i. 51 There's a man..always got a good story and a two-bit cigar for you. 1932 E. Caldwell Tobacco Road xvii. 208 Tom said she used to be a two-bit slut. 1978 T. Willis Buckingham Palace Connection viii. 155 Some other two-bit General will try shooting us up. |
| 1605 Timme Quersit. iii. 177 Take of the rootes of angelica,..of bifolium or *two-blades. 1728 Bradley Dict. Bot., Ophris, sive Bifolium,..Twy⁓blade and Twablade. 1828 Craven Gloss., Twa-blade, a plant with two leaves. Ophrys ovata. |
| 1841 Dana Seaman's Man. 99 Chock-a-block. When the lower block of a tackle is run close up to the upper one, so that you can hoist no higher... Also called hoisting up *two-blocks. |
| 1956 Nature 11 Feb. 268/2 A principal aim of the theory is to show that, using only such *two-body forces, one can achieve nuclear separation. 1978 Pasachoff & Kutner University Astron. xxvi. 648 The effects that the planets have on each other are much less than the effect that the sun has on each, and the mutual interactions of the planets are treated as small deviations..from the situation that would be present if only the sun-planet two-body problem had to be solved. |
| 1855 Thackeray Newcomes lix, This *two-bottle Mentor. 1874 L. Stephen Hours in Library (1876) II. 163 The two-bottle men who lingered till our day were..relics of the type which then gave the tone to society. |
| 1884 E. W. Nye Baled Hay 23 The managing editor of the mill lays out the log in his mind, and works it into dimension stuff, shingle bolts, slabs, edgings, *two by fours. 1897 ‘O. Thanet’ Missionary Sheriff 13 ‘That how she makes a living?’ ‘Yes—little two-by-four bakery.’ 1916 ‘B. M. Bower’ Phantom Herd v. 77 Houses..bald behind as board fences save where two-by-fours braced them from falling. 1939 J. B. Priestley Let People Sing i. 3 A little two-by-four provincial agency..giving itself airs now! 1978 Maledicta II. 7 You hit him over his ossified skull with a two-by-four. 1979 J. van de Wetering Maine Massacre xix. 226 De Gier saw a tableau made out of barn boards, framed neatly by weathered two-by-fours. |
| 1859 L. A. Wilmer Our Press Gang 42 The Express was a *two-cent cash paper. 1899 ‘J. Flynt’ Tramping i. v. 119 The next higher type of the town tramp is the ‘two-cent dosser’—the man who lives in stale-beer shops. 1902 E. Banks Newspaper Girl xiv, Dinah got a letter through the American mail. She had fivepence to pay on it, because only a common two-cent stamp had been stuck on it. 1908 Two-cent [see gunk 3]. |
| 1951 E. M. Forster (title) *Two cheers for democracy. 1977 Times 5 Sept. 6/7 Two cheers for..the National Theatre's debut in community drama. |
| 1962 E. Snow Other Side of River (1963) xx. 149 Mao and other Chinese continued to respect Chiang Kai-shek for one thing, however: he had declined to support the ‘*two-Chinas’ plan aimed at removing Taiwan from the sovereignty of China. 1979 H. Kissinger White House Yrs. xviii. 719 This was close to the two-China solution always vehemently rejected by both Taipei and Peking. |
| 1894 Creighton & Titchener tr. Wundt's Hum. & Anim. Psychol. v. §2. 69 Similar simple periods are found to recur in the other harmonious *two-clangs [Ger. Zweiklängen]. |
| 1833 Loudon Encycl. Archit. §936 All the ceilings..are to be finished with fine *two-coat plasterwork. 1847 Smeaton Builder's Man. 127 Lath, laid and set,..in plastering, signifying two⁓coat work. |
| 1903 Motor. Ann. 273 He suggests the *two-cycle engine without valves as the most economical motor. |
| 1520 MS. Acc. St. John's Hosp., Canterb., A *ij ered basket. 1685 Lond. Gaz. No. 2068/4 One Tea Pot, one Silver Tankard wrought, one two Ear'd Pot. 1704 Ibid. No. 3984/4 A..Two-ear'd Cup. |
| 1959 Listener 29 Oct. 728/2 *Two-egg twins..are derived from the separate eggs fertilized by two different sperms. 1971 Two-egg [see multiple birth s.v. multiple a. 4 c]. |
| 1863 Tyndall Heat xv. §755. (1870) 522 The polarity of a magnet consists in its *two-endedness. |
| 1864 Reader 19 Nov. 642/1 ‘A *Two-eyed Steak’,..a Yarmouth bloater. 1876 Stewart & Tait Unseen Univ. 21 Another class who regard a two-eyed man as a monster. 1892 Greener Breech-Loader 92 The sportsman may..dispense with shooting correctors, two-eyed sights, et id genus omne. |
| 1924 A. C. Maclaren Cricket Old & New viii. 73 What is called ‘the *two-eyed stance’ or the turn of the head to enable the batsman to see the ball with as full a face as possible but without taking the left shoulder off the line of the ball. 1977 Sunday Times 3 July 28/2 Hughie Trumble..condemned the two-eyed batting stance. |
| 1907 M. C. F. Morris Nunburnholme 250 The *two-field or three-field shift system. |
| 1796 Stedman Surinam II. xxvi. 255 The Accorees, or *Two-fingers, live amongst the Seramaca negroes. |
| 1971 G. Ewart Gavin Ewart Show iii. 50 Meanwhile on the roof of the Playboy Club..one Bunny Flag. Two ears, like sensual man's *two-fingers-up to Culture. 1977 Zigzag June 24/1 There's nothing more the kids want to see than The Pistols at the top of the chart, two fingers pointed at the TV, radio, printing firms and council officials who've tried to stifle them. |
| 1774 P. V. Fithian Jrnl. (1900) 223 He was Director, and appointed a sturdy *two-fisted Gentleman to open the Ball with Mrs. Tayloe. 1859 Geo. Eliot A. Bede vi, As poor a two-fisted thing as ever I saw, you know you was. 1878 Mrs. Stowe Poganuc P. vi, A stout, two-fisted farmer. 1908 [see clean v. 4 c]. 1925 E. E. Cummings Let. 3 Sept. (1969) 108 [I] was not made to match wits with twofisted go⁓getters. 1960 Times 16 June 18/6 The two-fisted back⁓hand of Australia's Howe. Ibid. 16 Sept. 52 Hamdinger..being, as the menu says, ‘for two-fisted appetites’. 1978 Times 4 July 19/4 Miss Kruger, a steady and tenacious competitor with a two-fisted backhand. 1979 Tucson Mag. Mar. 18/3 Bonanno..is going to have a two-fisted fight on his hands. The U.S. Criminal Justice system is also bearing down on Bonanno. |
| 1837 Dickens Pickw. xxvii, I am ashamed o' you, old *two-for-his-heels. |
| 1889 Farmer Americanisms, Two-forty. To go at *two forty, or at two forty pace, is to proceed at a high rate of speed. The allusion is to the record pace at trotting matches, at one time a mile in two minutes forty seconds being considered very good. 1896 G. Huntington in Chicago Advance 26 Mar. 450/3 Now, get a two forty move on you, nags! |
| 1848 Rimbault First Bk. Piano. 95 Where does the Accent fall in *Two-four Time? |
| 1805 R. W. Dickson Pract. Agric. I. 8 The double or *two-furrow plough. |
| 1901 C. R. Squire in Amer. Jrnl. Psychol. July–Oct. 535 The *two-group is psychologically simpler than the three-group. |
| Ibid. 536 The natural tendency to a *two-grouping. |
| 1654 A. Gray Serm. (1755) 80 Many of us would be found *two-hearted men. |
| a 1610 Healey Theophrastus (1636) 88 His *two-heel'd sword. |
| 1875 Knight Dict. Mech. s.v. Rolling-mill Train, *Two-high grooved rolls. |
| 1971 Islander (Victoria, B.C.) 3 Jan. 12/2 Gone were the woodshed and the *two-holer discreetly removed from the house. 1974 S. Alsop Stay of Execution ii. 224 The house..is a shooting lodge, built in 1929... There is one bathroom for the ladies, and one for the men, each with a two-holer. |
| c 1780 ‘J. H. St. J. de Crèvecœur’ Sk. 18th-Cent. Amer. (1925) 138 You have often admired our *two-horse waggons. 1798 R. Douglas Agric. Surv. Roxb. 50 The plough is drawn by a strong stretcher, commonly called a two-horse-tree. 1799 J. Robertson Agric. Perth 525 Two-horse ploughs. 1812 Sir J. Sinclair Syst. Husb. Scot. i. 58 A two-horse cart. 1900 P. Kropotkin Mem. Revolutionist (1906) I. i. 4 Two-horse sledges. 1976 Newmarket Jrnl. 16 Dec., [Darts] With White Lion beating Wellington 7-2 it seems to be a two-horse race at the top. 1977 Evening Gaz. (Middlesbrough) 11 Jan. 14/1 [Association football] The two-horse race in Division B looks like continuing. 1984 Times 22 Feb. 1/5 If, as is expected, he comes second in New Hampshire, it could turn into a two-horse race. |
| 1889 Westgarth Austral. Progr. 124 A *two-knot northerly current inshore. |
| 1771 Luckombe Hist. Print. 30 He used *two-line letters of a Gothic kind. 1892 A. Oldfield Man. Typogr. iv, Chapter Headings are usually set in a two-line titling. 1901 G. B. Shaw Admirable Bashville in Cashel Byron's Profession (rev. ed.) Pref. 288, I like the melodious sing-song, the clear simple one-line and two-line sayings, and the occasional rhymed tags. 1958 Wilding & Laundy Encycl. Parl. 603 Sir Wilfrid Lawson explained pithily that a one-line whip meant ‘you ought to attend’; a two-line whip ‘you should attend’; a three-line whip ‘you must attend’. 1962 W. Nowottny Lang. Poets Use v. 110 One usually expects of couplets that the sense of the passage will fall into two-line chunks. 1976 H. Wilson Governance of Britain iii. 46 The chief whip then indicates the kind of whip he will issue for each day—one-line, two-line or three. 1978 W. White in W. Whitman Daybks. & Notebks. I. 121 ‘Roaming in Thought’ is a two-line poem, published in the 1881 Leaves of Grass. |
| 1683 Moxon Mech. Exerc., Printing xxii. ¶5 He begins his Chapter..with a *Two-lin'd Letter. |
| 1787 Fam. Plants I. 4 Nectary..*two-lip'd. 1808 Med. Jrnl. XIX. 75 G[enista] tinctoria... Cal[yx] two-lipped. 1853 Miss Pratt Wild Flowers II. 18 They have..square stems, opposite leaves and two-lipped blossoms. |
| 1923 Radio Times 28 Sept. 3/1 (heading) A recent talk broadcast from *2LO. 1924 A. R. Burrows Story of Broadcasting viii. 59 A station known as 2LO, a 100-watt set contained in a small teak cabinet, and housed in the cinema theatre on the top floor of Marconi House, London. 1961 E. Williams George xxvi. 415, I would sit for an hour while the faint dream-sounds of 2LO echoed in my head. 1969 Listener 17 Apr. 514/3, 30 years after the introduction of broadcasting from 2LO, radio was the dominant or only means of electronic communication. 1981 S. Briggs Those Radio Times 9/2 The pre-Savoy Hill 2LO studio at Marconi House. |
| 1818 Scott Br. Lamm. xxiv, Folk are far frae respecting me as they wad do if I lived in a *twa-lofted sclated house. |
| 1741 W. Ellis Mod. Husbandman May vii. 112 It is generally made with half skim, and half new; or what is more properly called *Two-meal Cheese. 1784 Twamley Dairying 57 What is generally known by the name of Two-meal Cheese,..being made from one meal New Milk and one of old, or skimmed Milk. 1805 R. W. Dickson Pract. Agric. II. 1011 Where two milkings are blended, or two-meal cheese made. 1901 Daily Chron. 3 Sept. 7/4 The generality of the two-meal system in hot countries. |
| 1919, etc. *Two(-)minute(s') [see silence n. 2 e]. |
| 1811 Regul. & Ord. Army 95 The Monthly Settlement in the Infantry and the *Two-Monthly Settlement in the Cavalry..have been duly made by the Captains. 1867 Smyth Sailor's Word-bk., Two-monthly book, a book kept by the captain's clerk, to be forwarded every two months, when possible. |
| [1711 Addison in Spectator 24 July, There cannot a greater Judgment befall a Country than such a dreadful Spirit of Division as rends a Government into two distinct People, and makes them greater Strangers and more averse to one another, than if they were actually two different Nations.] 1845 Disraeli Sybil I. ii. v. 149 *Two nations; between whom there is no intercourse and no sympathy; who are as ignorant of each other's habits, thoughts, and feelings, as if they were..inhabitants of different planets... The rich and the poor. 1913 Times 8 May 10/3 Rightly or wrongly, the Protestants of Ulster hold to the ‘two nations’ theory. 1958 O. Caroe Pathans xxvi. 434 Only when the British Government's move to bring British authority to an end acquired a momentum so unmistakable that even the unbelieving were compelled to read the signs..was the two-nation theory translated into practical politics. 1976 Equals Oct./Nov. 1/5 In contemporary Britain the Two Nations are not so obviously the rich and the poor or the blacks and the whites or the townspeople and the country people, as the urban deprived and the rest of us. |
| 1857 Mrq. Dalhousie in Life (1895) 208 Lots of eighteen-penny *two-oars. |
| 1937 ‘M. Innes’ Hamlet, Revenge! i. ii. 34 Gott with his tutor's instinct was placing this young lady's mind provisionally among the good *Two-ones. 1963 Times 10 May 6/4 The survey showed that 10 per cent of the firsts and 25 per cent of the 2.i (upper second) were earning less than {pstlg}1,250 a year. 1964 Guardian 23 Oct. 14/2 It is argued..that examiners who can award ‘two ones’ are less ready to give firsts. 1969 M. Kelly Write on Both Sides of Paper 17 He was..a two-one graduate. 1976 Times 6 Sept. 10/5 For quite a number of years, New Hall got more firsts and 2/1s combined than any other college. 1984 Oxf. Univ. Gaz.: Suppl. 16 Feb. 506/1 It [sc. division of the second class] will..greatly help the II(1) in competition with officially recognized II(1)s from other universities. |
| 1749 Fielding Tom Jones xiv. iv, Nightingale should procure him either the ground-floor, or the *two pair of stairs. 1755 Kidgell Card II. 179 The very two-pair-of-stairs Apartment. 1836 Dickens Sk. Boz, Parish i, I rents a two-pair back, gentlemen. 1840 Thackeray Shabby-genteel Story vii, There was a light in the garret, and another in the two-pair front. 1841 ― Gt. Hoggarty Diam. ii, We occupied a very genteel two-pair. |
| c 1880 in Amer. Mail Order Fashions (1961) 11 A very neat little *two-piece suit of calico. 1895 Montgomery Ward Catal. Spring & Summer 501/2 Bathing Suits... Two-piece suits. Consisting of quarter sleeve shirts and knee pants. 1933 Auden Dance of Death 8 Revealing handsome two-piece bathing suits. 1956 Times 28 May 13/3 The two-piece, which has now become the generic term for a dress with a matching jacket, has to a great extent replaced the suit for special occasions. 1978 L. Deighton SS-GB iii. 29 She was dressed in a tailored two-piece of pink wool. |
| 1963 New Yorker 1 June 110 Soak up the sun in our beautifully brief, terry *two-piecer. 1978 Detroit Free Press 5 Mar. (Spring Fashion Suppl.) 17 (Advt.), The Pierrot collared two-piecer has a gently shirred skirt, with side pockets. |
| 1916 Hall & Niles One Man's War (1929) 160 He was flying a *two-place fighter. 1971 Flying Apr. 35/2 The jet works the same as a two-place trainer. |
| 1916 Hall & Niles One Man's War (1929) 190 It wasn't long until Luf spied a *two-placer. |
| 1641 Best Farm. Bks. (Surtees) 148 Bandes..made of the smallest haver-strawe,..first well twined, and after that twined togeather againe, after the manner of a *two plette. |
| 1901 To-Day 26 Sept. 280 In men and ships..the British Navy is distinctly above the ‘*two-Power standard’. 1910 Encycl. Brit. IV. 613/2 It has..been accepted as a fundamental axiom of defence that the British navy should exceed in strength any reasonable combination of foreign navies which could be brought against it, the accepted formula being the ‘two-power standard’, i.e. a 10% margin over the joint strength of the next two powers. 1914 G. B. Shaw Fanny's First Play iii. 223 Your honest and sensible statesmen demand for England a two-power standard. |
| 1980 *Two-rev [see stop cylinder s.v. stop n.2 29]. |
| 1902 Encycl. Brit. XXXII. 5/2 The *two-revolution cylinder.. makes two revolutions to each impression and can be made to produce 1500 or more impressions on a large sheet in one hour. 1967 Elsevier's Dict. Printing 328/2 The cylinder on a two-revolution press constantly rotates, printing a sheet on its first revolution and delivering the sheet on its second. |
| 1901 C. R. Squire in Amer. Jrnl. Psychol. July–Oct. 536 Others explain this preference for the *two-rhythm as due to its accordance with the bodily rhythms, the expiration and inspiration of respiration, the diastole and systole of the heart [etc.]. |
| 1896 E. Turner Little Larrikin xxiii. 279 The frantic rushes of the game of ‘*twos and threes’. 1935 N. Mitchison We have been Warned iii. 236 After dinner there were games with the crew... They had fox-and-geese and twos-and-threes. 1983 G. Mitchell Greenstone Griffins ii. 14 Some traditional party games were played... A game of Twos and Threes was in progress. |
| 1621 G. Sandys Ovid's Met. vi. (1626) 118 With all that *two-sead Isthmos Streights include. |
| 1891 H. C. Bunner Zadoc Pine 172, I climbed into his ‘*two-seater’, and sat behind talking to Mrs. Tom. 1906 Two-seater car [see seater 2]. 1918 T. E. Lawrence Lett. (1938) 248 Our Bristol Fighter the same day brought down a German two-seater in flames. 1931 Daily Express 31 Jan. 7/4 The two-seater airplane which crashed in Bushy Park. 1973 R. Ludlum Matlock Paper xviii. 150 He sat in the Early American two-seater in the outer office. 1977 P. Hill Fanatics 145 The helicopter..was a two-seater. 1979 R. Jaffe Class Reunion (1980) iii. i. 305 Emily..drove to her analyst..in the little two-seater Mercedes. |
| c 1440 Promp. Parv. 497/2 *Toschappyd clothe (S. tooschaptyd cloth), bilix. |
| 1788 W. Marshall Yorks. II. 260 The wedders will fat at *two-sheer (that is, two to three years old) to thirty pounds a quarter. c 1830 Glouc. Farm Rep. 16 in Libr. Usef. Knowl., Husb. III, The two-shear, or four-teeth ewes. 1898 Speaker 5 Feb. 181 [The lamb] attained to the dignity of a two-shear. |
| 1766 Hist. Goody Two-Shoes i. iii, The Pleasure she took in her two Shoes..by that Means [she] obtained the Name of Goody *Two-Shoes. 1858 Geo. Eliot Scenes Clerical Life I. 166 Little Bessie Parrot, a flaxen-headed ‘two-shoes’, very white and fat as to her neck. 1870 Emerson Soc. & Solit., Dom. Life Wks. (Bohn) III. 43 What a holiday is the first snow in which Twoshoes can be trusted abroad. |
| 1949 N. Streatfeild Painted Garden xxi. 228 Movies are made with a long shot, a *two-shot and a close⁓up of each person, each taken separately. 1978 Broadcast 27 Mar. 8/3 Two grey-suited figures, held in two-shot, recapped results interminably. |
| 1885 Narragansett Hist. Reg. III. 213 We were shown a play-card, the *two-spot of clubs. 1896 Ade Artie vi. 50 You're nothin' but a two-spot. 1901 ‘J. Flynt’ World of Graft 184 They convicted me at last and I got a two-spot. 1909 ‘O. Henry’ Roads of Destiny xviii. 305 We get the heelers out with the crackly two-spots. 1936 H. Hagedorn Brookings v. 73 He knew..when to be discreet and when to bluff on a two-spot. |
| 1951 Observer 27 May 4/5 He cannot do better than buy the Michelin Guide to France and tour the *two- or even three-star restaurants. 1960 John o' London's 7 Apr. 403/1 The unknown two-star general..accumulated power for himself in the name of France. 1976 Daily Mail (Hull) 30 Sept. 11/3 The Galant..will do over 35 miles to the gallon on two-star petrol. 1982 ‘E. Lathen’ Green grow Dollars ii. 16 Two-star generals are less accustomed to being balked than most men. |
| 1959 G. Troup Masers iii. 35 The *two-state molecules under consideration. 1971 J. H. Smith Digital Logic i. 1 Although most digital devices are ‘two state’, the essential requirement of a digital device is that it should change from one discrete state to another and not settle into any intermediate state or position. |
| 1900 in Westm. Gaz. 12 Apr. 2/3 The best dancer is the best man. She falls in love with him to the tune of a sighing waltz. She marries him to the tune of a *two-step. 1909 Daily Chron. 27 Jan. 7/4 The most popular steps are the two-step, waltz, schottische, three-step, and glide waltz. |
| 1910 Punch 30 Mar. 223/2 But when the maid my signal sees She ‘*two-steps’ by like winking. 1929 S. Lewis Dodsworth i. 9 The aristocracy of Zenith were dancing... They two-stepped on the wide porch. |
| 1940 Chambers's Techn. Dict. 874/1 *Two-step relay. 1948 A. C. Clarke Across Sea of Stars (1959) 13 The A. 20 was a two-step rocket. 1978 Bull. Amer. Acad. Arts & Sci. Feb. 13 The two-step mechanism of translocation of estradiol finds a precise counterpart in the action of other steroid hormones. |
| 1884 Leisure Hour Aug. 505/2 Of modern racing schooners..the fastest *two-sticker ever designed. 1895 Two-sticker [see Jack n.1 25]. 1931 Canad. Geogr. Jrnl. II. 391/1 Our ‘two-sticker with a kicker’ lies in Sandy Bay harbour, Nova Scotia. |
| 1923 M. C. Work Auction Bridge of 1924 vi. 60 A hand containing two suits both strong enough to bid is called a ‘*two-suiter’. 1958 Which? Winter 25/1 The boot accommodated one two-suiter and one week end case, or three week-end cases. 1979 Arizona Daily Star 5 Aug. i. 12/1 North had to have a monstrously powerful major two-suiter for his repeated cue-bids, and they invariably took a preference to six spades. 1981 L. Deighton XPD xxvii. 223 Stuart lifted a Samsonite two-suiter onto the bed. |
| 1904 Oxford Mag. 16 Mar. 275/2 When imported Labour Yellow should eliminate the Fellow, And the Head of every College be a *two-tailed Mandarin! 1922 Joyce Ulysses 491 His twotailed black braces dangling at heels. 1931 Times Lit. Suppl. 1 Oct. 747/2 They [sc. Norman clerks] used a two-tailed capital F. 1945 Biometrics Bull. I. 70 If querist has other alternatives to be considered, he may be interested in the two-tailed test discussed in following answers. 1976 Lancet 30 Oct. 922/1 Data were analysed by Student's two-tailed t test. |
| 1875 Knight Dict. Mech., *Two-throw Crank. |
| 1906 Goodchild & Tweney Technol. & Sci. Dict. 800/2 *Two tone,..a term applied to lace composed of cotton of the natural colour (ecru) interspersed with objects of white. 1940 R. Chandler Farewell, My Lovely xviii. 115 A couple of very nice two-tone Buicks. 1963 Listener 21 Feb. 349/2 There are signs, in the two-tone sketchiness of some of the scenes..that the book was written at speed. 1965 G. McInnes Road to Gundagai x. 167 The sad two-tone cadence of the mopoke or Australian owl. 1966 Statutory Instruments 1966 III. 3501 ‘Two-tone horn’ means an instrument or apparatus which, when operated, automatically produces a sound which alternates at regular intervals between two fixed notes. 1977 Harpers & Queen Sept. 51/2 The usual luxury touches like electric windows, two-tone horns. 1981 Country Life 22 Jan. 226/3 Deep burgundy bouclé jacket.. two-tone belt. |
| 1897 Sears, Roebuck Catal. 238/1 Striped Undershirts... Neat *two toned shades, silver gray predominating. 1951 T. Sterling House without Door v. 47 A two-toned gong rang... He opened the door. 1982 R. Ludlum Parsifal Mosaic xviii. 271 He climbed out of the two-toned coupé. |
| 1393 Langl. P. Pl. C. xxiii. 162 Here syre was a sysour þat neuere swor treuthe, On tomme *two⁓tounged. 1636 G. Sandys Paraphr. Ps. xxvi. 35, I hate the two-tongu'd Hypocrite. 1815 Malcolm Sk. Persia (1828) II. 156 ‘The fiery steed of the two-tongued pen’ [a split reed] is allowed to run wild. |
| 1776 Carlisle Mag. 13 July 22 It [the goggles] generally..attacks the younger sheep, more particularly the *two tooths. 1778 Lett. & Pap. Agric. to Soc. at Bath I. 42 The sheep most subject to it [the disease goggles] are two teeth. c 1830 Glouc. Farm Rep. 16 in Libr. Usef. Knowl., Husb. III, The young or two-teeth ewes. 1945 N. Marsh Died in Wool viii. 180 A couple more dirty two-tooths for the herd to shear. 1962 Coast to Coast 1961–62 26 Kangaroos, goannas and two-tooth ewes constitute the characteristic fauna of Coorabin. 1972 P. Newton Sheep Thief iii. 26 As two-tooths they all go out to Cow Creek with the ewes. 1980 D. Hart-Davis Heights of Rimring xviii. 212 ‘What the hell's a two-tooth ewe?’ ‘A hogget—a second-year ewe. The best mutton there is.’ |
| 1895 Army & Navy Co-op. Soc. Price List 921 The Remington single shot rifle. Shooting the *·22 rim fire American Cartridge. 1944 ‘N. Shute’ Pastoral i. 11 A little gun, his own. Two-two. 1973 ‘M. Hebden’ Dark Side of Island xvi. 134 ‘What sort was it? Shotgun?’ ‘No. Two-two.’ 1976 J. H. Spencer Surgenor Campaign i. 11 His own Tripos degree class in history, a Two-Two in place of the expected First, had been a disappointment. 1981 Ld. Harewood Tongs & Bones v. 90, I..at least got a II:ii..; in those days the only respectable thing was either a First or a Third. |
| 1905 *Two-water [see three-water s.v. three B. III. 2]. |
| 1900 H. Sutcliffe Shameless Wayne 119 It's a *two-week come yesterday sin' they fought i' th' kirk-yard. |
| 1596–7 Durham Wills (Surtees) II. 268, iiij *two-yere cattell. 1927 A. H. McNeile Introd. Study N.T. v. 141 St. Paul returned [to Ephesus] for his two-year visit. 1962 E. Snow Other Side of River (1963) i. 19 There were six of them..on their way to serve two-year contracts as technical advisers in China. 1975 Whitaker's Almanack 1976 802 Institutions of higher education include universities, colleges, professional schools, and two-year colleges. |
| 1894 Doyle Mem. S. Holmes 81 I'm just off a *two-yearer in an eight-knot tramp. 1899 Tit-Bits 1 July 276/3 A ‘three-yearer’ may..be recognised by his stand-up collar and his tie-pin,..which an unfavored ‘two-yearer’ may look and long for. |
| 1600 in W. F. Shaw Mem. Eastry (1876) 226 Item vij kine iij *towyearing beasts and four twelve monthings. |
| 1577 B. Googe Heresbach's Husb. i. (1586) 43 b, My young breede, Yeerelinges, and *Twoyeerelinges. 1884 W. Sussex Gaz. 25 Sept., 10 good two-yearling wellbred Steers. |