twiceadv.n.adj.
/twʌɪs/, U.S. /twaɪs/In all senses now the regular substitute for the phrase two times: see two adj. 1d.
1.
a. Two (successive) times; on two occasions.
ΘΚΠ
the world > time > frequency > [adverb] > on two occasions, twice, or for a second time
eftc825
eftsoonc1000
twicec1122
eft-sitha1300
secondly1382
twice1382
sere twicea1400
secondarilyc1475
eftersoonsc1540
secondarly1543
severallya1577
twicea1656
bis1877
the world > relative properties > number > specific numbers > two > [adverb] > twice
twiea900
twicec1122
sere twicea1400
two timesa1450
twicea1656
bis1877
c1122 Anglo-Saxon Chron. (Laud) ann. 1120 Ðises geares com þet leoht to Sepulchrum Dni..twiges.
a1175 Cott. Hom. 227 Þat cild his twies acenned.
c1175 Ormulum (Burchfield transcript) l. 16635 Niss nan mann..Þatt muȝhe godess riche sen Butt he be borenn twiȝess.
c1175 Ormulum (Burchfield transcript) Ded. l. 104 & tatt he loke wel þatt he. An boc staff write twiȝȝess. Eȝȝwhær þær itt upp o þiss boc Iss writenn o þatt wise.
a1325 Statutes of Realm (2011) xlii. 109 Tuuiȝes in þe ȝere.
c1330 R. Mannyng Chron. Wace (Rolls) 4704 Þe Bretons..had wonnen of Cesar twys.
a1375 (c1350) William of Palerne (1867) l. 3721 It a-louted lowe to vs twiȝes.
c1375 Lay Folks Mass Bk. (MS. B.) 309 In excelsis he neuens twyese.
1377 W. Langland Piers Plowman B. v. 421 I nam nouȝte shryuen..tweies in two ȝere.
a1400–50 Alexander 1605 ‘Ay mott he leue, ay mot he leue’, quod ilke a lede twyse.
14.. R. Gloucester's Chron. (Rolls) 9018 (MS. β) He smote him tweys on þe heuede.
a1425 (a1325) Cursor Mundi (Galba) l. 27912 Als gude war men to ett twise.
c1449 R. Pecock Repressor (1860) 462 No man schulde be a bischop..if he hadde be twies weddid..and ther myȝte be no dispensacioun that eny man tweies weddid schulde be a preest.
1473–4 in T. Dickson Accts. Treasurer Scotl. (1877) I. 47 Passand twis to Sanctandrois and anys to Dunbare.
?1507 W. Dunbar Tua Mariit Wemen (Rouen) in Poems (1998) I. 49 I wes tuyse maryit.
1526 Bible (Tyndale) Luke xviii. f. cvj I fast twyse in the weke.
1549 in Accts. Ld. High Treasurer Scotl. (1911) IX. 280 To the furroure for tuys lynyng of ane goun.
?1566–7 G. Buchanan Opinion Reformation Univ. St. Andros in Vernacular Writings (1892) 11 At iij howris ryng twyiss.
1600 W. Shakespeare Merchant of Venice iv. i. 68 Wouldst thou haue a serpent sting thee twice ? View more context for this quotation
1612 in 2nd Rep. Rec. Irel. 264 Twist or thrist a week.
1774 O. Goldsmith Hist. Earth V. 350 The swallow..sometimes breeds twice a year.
1790 D. Collins Acct. Eng. Colony New S. Wales (1798) I. 139 They took to the woods, having more than once or twice robbed their companions.
1839 T. Mitchell in Aristophanes Frogs 145 (note) [Cinesias] is alluded to twice more in the present play.
1868 J. N. Lockyer Elem. Lessons Astron. (1879) iii. xxxiii. 195 The sun crosses the equator twice a year at the equinoxes.
1888 E. Eggleston Graysons i. 15 I wouldn't look at her twiste.
1895 Dial. Notes 1 375 Some other words reported individually are…onct, twīct.
1922 J. Joyce Ulysses ii. xv. [Circe] 437 And he interfered twict with my clothing.
1958 E. Birney Turvey v. 48 I los all my good time for climbin the fence twicet.
b. Strengthened by over (over adv. 13a).
ΘΚΠ
the world > time > frequency > [adverb] > on two occasions, twice, or for a second time
eftc825
eftsoonc1000
twicec1122
eft-sitha1300
secondly1382
twice1382
sere twicea1400
secondarilyc1475
eftersoonsc1540
secondarly1543
severallya1577
twicea1656
bis1877
the world > relative properties > number > specific numbers > two > [adverb] > twice
twiea900
twicec1122
sere twicea1400
two timesa1450
twicea1656
bis1877
a1656 Bp. J. Hall Shaking of Olive-tree (1660) ii. 196 The justice of God never punished the same sin twise over.
1711 J. Addison Spectator No. 72. ¶11 The Senior Member has out-lived the whole Club twice over.
1721 A. Ramsay Robert Richy & Sandy 6 This aught days twice o'er tell'd.
1893 Times 29 Apr. 11/3 To tax the owners of property twice over in respect of the same thing.
c. Contextually: A second time; for the second time.
ΘΚΠ
the world > time > frequency > [adverb] > on two occasions, twice, or for a second time
eftc825
eftsoonc1000
twicec1122
eft-sitha1300
secondly1382
twice1382
sere twicea1400
secondarilyc1475
eftersoonsc1540
secondarly1543
severallya1577
twicea1656
bis1877
1382 Bible (Wycliffite, E.V.) Phil. iv. 16 To Tessalonyk ȝe senten oonis and twyes [ Tindale, Cranmer, Geneva, once and afterwarde agayne].
a1400 Sir Beues (A.) 4256 Now is ȝhe þer twies quene.
a1450 Knt. de la Tour (1906) 85 The kynge sente vnto her onis, tuyes, thries.
?1553 (c1501) G. Douglas Palice of Honour (London) i. l. 388 in Shorter Poems (1967) 32 And now this tyme is twyis.
1572 (a1500) Taill of Rauf Coilȝear (1882) 150 Now is twyse..me think thow hes forȝet.
1582 T. Watson Ἑκατομπαθία: Passionate Cent. Loue lxxxv I at last, Am now twise free.
1603 W. Shakespeare Hamlet ii. ii. 387 Yonder great baby..is not yet out of his swadling clowts. Gil. That may be, for they say an olde man Is twice a childe.
1631 Bp. J. Hall Occas. Medit. (ed. 2) (2nd state) §xcviii The old word is, that an old man is twice a child; but I say, happy is he that is thus a child alwayes.
d. once or twice, twice or thrice, used indefinitely: a few times.
ΘΚΠ
the world > time > frequency > [phrase] > more than once
once and again?c1225
once or twice?c1225
?c1225 (?a1200) Ancrene Riwle (Cleo. C.vi) (1972) 57 Forto ondsweren ed hire þurl eanes oðer twiȝen.
c1400 tr. Secreta Secret., Gov. Lordsh. xix. 58 Do noght þat ofte, but twyes or thryes yn þe ȝeer.
c1440 Mandeville's Trav. (1839) xxv. 261 Ones or twyes in the Woke.
c1450 ( G. Chaucer Bk. Duchess 665 But God wolde I had oones or twyes Ykoud and knowe the jeupardyes.
1526 W. Bonde Pylgrimage of Perfection iii. sig. MMMvi Nat onely ones or twyse he hath hurted me.
1711 J. Addison Spectator No. 120. ¶1 He has caught me twice or thrice looking after a Bird's Nest.
1753 T. Gray Long Story in Six Poems 22 He once or twice had pen'd a sonnet.
e. to think twice: to consider a matter a second time (before deciding or acting); to deliberate.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > mental capacity > thought > continued thinking, reflection, contemplation > thinking about, consideration, deliberation > think about, consider [verb (intransitive)]
thinkOE
thinkOE
bethinka1200
umthinka1300
to have mind ofc1300
casta1340
studya1375
delivera1382
to chew the cudc1384
to take advisementa1393
stema1400
compassc1400
advisec1405
deliberc1405
to make it wisec1405
to take deliberationc1405
enter?a1413
riddlec1426
hovec1440
devise?c1450
to study by (also in) oneself?c1450
considerc1460
porec1500
regard1523
deliberate1543
to put on one's thinking or considering cap1546
contemplate1560
consult1565
perpend1568
vise1568
to consider of1569
weigh1573
ruminate1574
dascanc1579
to lay to (one's) heart1588
pondera1593
debate1594
reflect1596
comment1597
perponder1599
revolvea1600
rumine1605
consider on, upon1606
to think twice1623
reflex1631
spell1645
ponderatea1652
to turn about1725
to cast a thought, a reflection upon1736
to wake over1771
incubatea1847
mull1857
fink1888
1623 W. Painter in Oxf. Dict. Eng. Proverbs (1970) 263/1 Thinke twise, then speak, the old Prouerbe doth say.
1640 R. Brathwait Ar't Asleepe Husband? vii. 277 You thinke twice before you speake, and may be demanded twice before you answer.
1818 W. Scott Heart of Mid-Lothian viii, in Tales of my Landlord 2nd Ser. IV. 180 If a fule may gie a wise man a counsel, I wad hae him think twice or he mells wi' Knockdunder.
1853 C. Brontë Villette I. viii. 147 I saw in her countenance a something that made me think twice ere I decided.
1877 C. H. Spurgeon Serm. XXIII. 56 Do not think twice about it..but say ‘No’.
1890 Spectator 27 Dec. 932/1 He may..think twice before he formally undertakes so unremunerative a struggle.
1910 G. F. Hill in Archaeologia 62 140 I confess that had I come across this MS. at the beginning of my search, I should have thought twice before going on.
1934 C. Carmer in B. A. Botkin Treasury Southern Folklore (1949) iii. ii. 506 Chillun..think twict befo' yuh speak onct.
1940 H. G. Wells Babes in Darkling Wood ii. i. 137 ‘Seems like Hitler's thinking twicet,’ said a gentleman behind him.
2. Expressing multiplication by two: Two times in number, amount, or value.
a. with a numeral, or a noun or noun phrase expressing quantity: Two times as much as; double of.
ΘΚΠ
the world > relative properties > number > specific numbers > two > multiplication by two > [adverb]
twoc900
twifoldlyc1000
twice1308
doublyc1380
doublec1384
twicea1398
twice-told1430
twofold1526
twifolda1640
duplicately1660
1308 Song in Ritson Anc. Songs & Ball. (1877) 61 Tak twies ten ifere That wol be tuenti fulle.
1377 W. Langland Piers Plowman B. xiii. 270 In þe date of owre dryȝte..A þousande and thre hondreth tweis thretty & ten.
?c1425 Crafte Nombrynge in R. Steele Earliest Arithm. in Eng. (1922) 30 Yf þat þou wold wete qwat is twyes 40.
1593 in T. Morris Provosts of Methven (1875) 82 For the haill space of twyss nynetene ȝeiris.
1697 W. Dampier New Voy. around World xv. 408 Any Stranger..must be a great Favourite to get a pair of Shoes of them [sc. Chinese women], tho he give twice their value.
1743 P. Francis & W. Dunkin tr. Horace Epode ix, in tr. Horace Odes II. 311 Twice a thousand Gauls aloud proclaim..great Cæsar's name.
1824 T. Arnold Let. in A. P. Stanley Life of Dr. Arnold (1844) I. 69 I am twice the man for labour that I have been..for the last year or two.
1826 W. Henry Elem. Chem. II. 373 These crystals..require..between twice and three times their weight of water at 60°.
1875 B. Jowett tr. Plato Dialogues (ed. 2) I. 475 Two is twice one.
1926 R. Hughes in Cosmopolitan Feb. 44/2 Wha'd' you say, Kid, if I'd 'a' matched Coily up wit' some old vet'ran twicet his weight wit' twicet his ring-gener'lship.
b. In a twofold degree; two times as much; doubly.Usually with as (†so obsolete); more rarely with comparative, or (rhetorically) with an adjective of quality.
ΘΚΠ
the world > relative properties > number > specific numbers > two > multiplication by two > [adverb]
twoc900
twifoldlyc1000
twice1308
doublyc1380
doublec1384
twicea1398
twice-told1430
twofold1526
twifolda1640
duplicately1660
c1394 P. Pl. Crede 178 Mo þan twenty and two twyes y-noumbred.]
a1398 J. Trevisa tr. Bartholomaeus Anglicus De Proprietatibus Rerum (BL Add. 27944) (1975) II. xix. cxxv. 1362 An nombre þat hatte multiplex conteyneþ þe lasse nombre twies or þries or foure siþes.
a1500 (a1460) Towneley Plays (1994) I. viii. 81 We shall þem bynd twyse as fast.
a1513 W. Dunbar Poems (1998) I. 144 Sum gevis for twyis als gud agane.
1542 N. Udall tr. Erasmus Apophthegmes f. 303 A newe hous..twys so good & double so faire.
1583 P. Stubbes Second Pt. Anat. Abuses sig. I5 Twise vnhappy be those parents that thinke any moneth, day or houre infortunate for their children to be borne in.
1601 R. Dolman tr. P. de la Primaudaye French Acad. III. 179 The fire is twise more subtile then the aire.
a1774 O. Goldsmith Surv. Exper. Philos. (1776) I. 238 If..the wedge be twice as long..the driver will cleave his wood with twice greater force.
1825 T. Hook Sayings & Doings 2nd Ser. I. 16 Which..makes beauty doubly winning, and talent twice bewitching.
1885 ‘Mrs. Alexander’ Valerie's Fate iv I am nearly as old as you are, and I know twice as much of the world.
3. quasi-n., preceded by a preposition or demonstrative: Two times. (Cf. once adv. 9.)1546 Wycklyffes Wycket sig. A.viiiv Whether is the body of the lorde made at once or at twise.1562 P. Whitehorne Certain Waies Orderyng Souldiers f. 33, in tr. N. Machiavelli Arte of Warre A ladell..that wil take so muche poulder vp at twyse or thrise.a1600 A. Montgomerie Sonnets lxii. 5 My trumpets tone is terribler be tuyis [rhymes wyse, lyis] Nor ȝon couhorne.1664 J. Wilson Projectors iv As many Citizens and their Wives at once, as the great Bed at Ware, will hold at twice.1791 H. Walpole Let. to Miss Berry 29 Jan. I have written this at twice.1860 ‘G. Eliot’ Mill on Floss II. iii. iii. 45 ‘Did Mr Tulliver let you have the money all at once?’... ‘No; at twice.’
a. with preposition; esp. at twice, on two occasions, in two distinct operations (somewhat rare); †by twice, twofold, doubly (obsolete Scottish).
ΚΠ
1494 in T. Dickson Accts. Treasurer Scotl. (1877) I. 248 For a rape to the locke at twys,..brokyne wyth towen of the tymmyr.
b. with demonstrative word or phrase. rare.
ΚΠ
1872 W. Bagehot Eng. Constit. (1878) 100 We reject your Bill for this once or these twice, or even these thrice.
1907 T. Cobb in Story-Teller 93/1 Judging by Lady Kitty's demeanour the last twice they had met.
4. quasi-adj. Performed, occurring, given, etc. twice; doing something (implied by the noun) twice.Chiefly with verbal noun or agent-noun, the verb in which is implicitly qualified by twice.
ΚΠ
1577 B. Googe tr. C. Heresbach Foure Bks. Husbandry i. f. 28 Sommer Barley [is to be sowed] in March, or April, after twyse plowing.
1624 J. Smith Gen. Hist. Virginia 239 We heard of the twice returne of the Paragon.
1683 Breif Acct. Life Earle of Shaftsbury (title page) His twice Imprisonment in the Tower.
1876 E. A. Freeman Gen. Sketch European Hist. 83 The twice pilgrim.
1894 Mrs. H. Ward Marcella I. i. i. 6 Twice meat was forbidden and twice pudding allowed.
Compounds
C1.
a. In combination with participles, forming compound adjectives, as twice-baked, twice-bearing, twice-blowing, twice-boiled, twice-conquered, twice-dipped, twice-dyed, twice-given, twice-married, twice-refined, twice-roasted, twice-shelled, twice-sworn, twice-turned (see also twice-born adj., twice-laid adj., twice-told adj.); rarely with other adjectives, as twice-foul, twice-mortal.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > mental capacity > knowledge > conformity with what is known, truth > deceit, deception, trickery > evasive deception, shiftiness > [adjective] > double-dealing
twifoldc897
doublea1340
twice-sworn1542
ambidexter1549
double-hearteda1555
double-faced1574
doubling1581
double-dealing1587
twi-faced1635
two-faceda1640
ambidextrous1646
double-headed1646
two-hearteda1656
ambidextral1665
twistical1805
twistifying1845
twistified1872
duplicitous1958
1542 Reg. Mag. Sig. Scot. 616/2 Tuyse schelit meill.
1593 R. Hooker Of Lawes Eccl. Politie Pref. 9 These twice sworne men.
1605 J. Sylvester tr. G. de S. Du Bartas Deuine Weekes & Wks. i. iv. 125 The twice-foule Rauen.
1642 T. Fuller Holy State v. xi. 405 Such as take themselves to be twice-refined.
1700 T. Brown Amusem. Serious & Comical x. 125 That unpalatable Ragoust, called in Latin Cramben Biscoctum, and in plain English, Twice-boil'd Cabbage.
1709 A. Pope Chaucer's January & May in Poet. Misc.: 6th Pt. 184 Twice-marry'd Dames.
1743 E. Young Complaint: Night the Fourth 43 Faith..Dying, tenfold Terror gives to Death, And dips in Venom his twice-mortal Sting.
1743 P. Francis & W. Dunkin tr. Horace Odes (new ed.) I. ii. xvi. 42 The twice-dyed purple.
c1820 S. Rogers Paestum in Italy 89 Paestum's twice-blowing roses.
1842 J. C. Loudon Suburban Horticulturist 568 The twice-bearing red [raspberry].
1846 H. G. Robinson Odes of Horace ii. xvi And wool with Afric's dye..Twice-dipp'd.
1851 H. Melville Moby-Dick xxvi. 125 As hard as twice-baked biscuits.
b. † twice-childish adj. Obsolete in one's ‘second childhood’ (cf. quot. 1603 at sense 1c). † twice-writhen n. Obsolete Turner's rendering of medieval Latin bistorta, bistort n.
ΘΚΠ
the world > people > person > old person > [adjective] > second childhood
twichildc1580
twice-childish1605
1605 J. Sylvester tr. G. de S. Du Bartas Deuine Weekes & Wks. ii. i. 278 The passage of twice-childish age.
Categories »
twice-stabbed adj. Entomology having two red marks suggesting stabs on the wing-cases, as the twice-stabbed ladybird, Chilocorus bivulnerus ( Cent. Dict. 1891).
ΚΠ
1568 W. Turner Herbal iii. 12 It [Bistort] may be called..twise~writhen.
C2. In combination with adverbs, forming compound adverbs or adjectives (and nouns), as twice-nightly, twice-weekly, twice-yearly.
ΚΠ
1929 D. H. Lawrence Pansies 133 And let the nodding tempests of verbosity Weekly or twice-weekly whistle round your bottles.
1949 M. Steen Twilight on Floods iv. vi. 611 There was English's.., the first of the twice-nightlies, down in Hackney.
1976 ‘W. Trevor’ Children of Dynmouth v. 102 The cartoonist responsible..was now, in the sunset of his life, himself the recipient of twice-weekly Meals on Wheels.
1980 M. Babson Queue here for Murder iv. 30 The twice-yearly Sales.
Derivatives
twice v. slang (transitive) to make twice as much, to double; to do twice as much as.
ΘΚΠ
the world > relative properties > number > specific numbers > two > multiplication by two > multiply by two or double [verb (transitive)]
doublec1290
duplec1425
redouble1477
duplify1509
reduplicate1570
duplicate1623
ingeminate1625
geminatea1637
twice1637
iterate1660
1637 C. Fitzgeffry Compassion towards Captives ii. 33 Twice your gift by timely giving it.
1890 ‘R. Boldrewood’ Colonial Reformer (1891) 304 We can ‘twice’ you over and over.
This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1916; most recently modified version published online June 2022).
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adv.n.adj.c1122