Etymology Explorer › English

Where does “two” come from?

Two comes from Middle English tuo, from Old English twēġen, from Proto-Germanic twai, from Proto-Indo-European dwóh₁.

two (English): A numerical value equal to 2; this many dots;...

Definitions

  1. A numerical value equal to 2; this many dots;...

Ancestry of “two”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Middle Englishtwo—
2Old Englishtwātwo
3Old Englishtwēġentwo; twain
4Proto-West Germanictwai-two
5Proto-Germanictwaitwo
6Proto-Indo-Europeandwóh₁two

Words derived from “two”

  • twothirds
  • twopence
  • twopenny
  • twoness
  • twoscore
  • atwo
  • twopennyworth
  • twosies
  • twoish
  • twoer
  • twoth
  • two-faced
  • two-tongued
  • two-headed
  • two-legged
  • two-lipped
  • two-armed
  • two-handedness
  • two-handedly
  • two-up
  • two-facedly
  • two-handed
  • two-ply
  • onesie-twosie
Every word from Proto-Indo-European dwóh₁ →