Where does “twice as less” come from?

twice as less (English) comes from English As, from English -s, from English ’s, from English Kingstown, from English town, from Middle English toun, from Middle English ende, from Old English ende — on, onto.

twice as less (English): Half as much

Definitions

  1. Half as much

Ancestry of “twice as less”, step by step

twice as less traces back through 3 separate lines of ancestry.

via English As

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1EnglishAsplural of A; plural of A*
2English-sUsed to form regular plurals of nouns; Used to...
3English’s
4EnglishKingstownOS grid ref NY3959
5EnglishtownA settlement; an area with residential districts,...
6Middle Englishtountown
7Middle EnglishendeThe end or finishing of a thing; the terminal...
8Old Englishendeend, limit, border, corner
9Proto-Germanicandiin addition, furthermore, and
10Proto-Indo-Europeanh₂éntiopposite; near; in front
11Proto-Indo-Europeanh₂éntsforehead; front
12Proto-Indo-Europeanh₂ent-face; forehead; front
13Proto-Indo-Europeanh₂en-on, onto

via English twice

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1EnglishtwiceTwo times; Doubled in quantity, intensity, or...
2Englishtwise
3Middle Englishtwiestwice two times
4Old Englishtwīġestwice
5Old Englishtwīġatwice
6Old English-aEnding forming adverbs; nominative masculine...
7Proto-GermanicCreates feminine nouns from roots and stems
8Proto-Germanic-ly; Forms agent nouns, often from the zero-grade...
9Proto-Indo-EuropeanDerives nouns from roots

via English less

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1EnglishlessTo a smaller extent or degree; comparative form...
2Middle Englishlesfalse; lying; deceptive; falsehood; a lie
3Old Englishlēasfalse, lax; false, void, loose; devoid of, loose...
4Proto-Germanic*laus
Every word from Proto-Indo-European h₂en-Every word from Proto-Indo-European h₂ent-Every word from Proto-Indo-European h₂énts
twice as less — Etymology, Origin & Word History | Etymology Explorer