twinned, ppl. a.
(twɪnd, poet. ˈtwɪnɪd)
[f. twin n. or v.2 + -ed1.]
1. Born two at one birth; twin.
| 1607 Shakes. Timon iv. iii. 3 Twin'd Brothers of one wombe. 1611 ― Wint. T. i. ii. 67 We were as twyn'd lambs, that did frisk i' th' sun. 1621 G. Sandys Ovid's Met. viii. (1626) 157 The twin'd Tyndarides. [1905 Garnett Shaks. 33.] |
2. a. Intimately joined or united, as two things; coupled (usually also implying close similarity).
| 1611 Shakes. Cymb. i. vi. 35 The twinn'd Stones Vpon the number'd Beach. 1641 Sir E. Dering 4 Sp. conc. Laud, etc. i. 2 Two twinned Nations, united together under one regall head. 1872 Sir A. De Vere Leg. St. Patrick (Cassell) 26 The sun had set; But still those summits twinned,..Laughed with his latest beam. |
b. Cryst. United, as two crystals, or consisting of two crystals united, so as to form a ‘twin’: see twin n. 3 b.
| 1879 Rutley Study Rocks x. 98 A group of three twinned crystals of triclinic felspar. 1895 Story-Maskelyne Crystallogr. vii. §192 Cubic System. Twinned Forms. 1912 Brit. Museum Return 194 Tilasite, a large twinned crystal. |
c. Of a city, town, etc.: linked with another (in a different country) for the purpose of friendship and cultural exchange. Usu. pred. Cf. twin town s.v. twin a. and n. C. e.
| [1923 E. Conybeare Highways & Byways Cambr. & Ely iii. 51 William of Wykeham..first conceived the idea of twinned colleges, in the provinces and at the University.] 1957 Harrogate Advertiser 16 Mar. 13/5 The congress is to talk about problems facing twinned towns, and report on the progress of the twinning. 1960 Guardian 25 Feb. 5/5 About 68 towns in Britain are now ‘twinned’ with towns abroad. 1976 Times 5 July 13/6 Leicester city is twinned with Krefeld and a most encouraging friendship has grown up between the two cities. 1980 Times 11 July 14/8 Delegates pay visits to twinned cities. |