| 释义 |
twoadj.n.adv. Etymology: Old English twá feminine and neuter, tú neuter, of the numeral of which the masculine twégen survives as twain adj. and n. and tway adj. The forms in the cognate languages which more or less closely correspond to Old English twá and tú are Old Frisian twâ feminine and neuter (West Frisian twa , East Frisian twô , North Frisian tâw , tau , tô , tû ), Middle Dutch and Dutch twee , Old Saxon twâ , twô (feminine), twê neuter (Middle Low German twô , twu (feminine), twê neuter; Low German twê , twe ), Old High German zwâ , zwô (feminine), zwei neuter (Middle High German zwô , zwei , German zwei ), Old Norwegian and Icelandic tveir (masculine), tvǽr (feminine), tvau (tvö ) neuter (Norwegian dialect tvei , tvæ , tvo , tvau , etc.; Swedish två , Danish to ), Gothic twai (masculine), twōs (feminine), twa neuter (For the forms corresponding to the Old English masculine twégen see twain adj. and n.) The word is common to all the Indo-European languages, as Sanskrit dwau (masculine), dwē feminine and neuter, Greek δύο, Latin duo, Old Irish dá, Lithuanian du, dvi, etc.The genitive and dative forms (see Forms 2 and 3) did not survive beyond the 13th century. The pronunciation /tuː/, like that of who /huː/ from Old English hwá, is due to labialization of the vowel by the w (compare womb), which then disappeared before the related sound. The successive stages would thus be /twaː//twɔː//twoː//twuː//tuː/. A. adj. The cardinal numeral next after one; one added to one; represented by the symbols 2 or ii. 1. the world > relative properties > number > specific numbers > two > [adjective] the mind > mental capacity > belief > expressed belief, opinion > personal opinion > [noun] a900 21 Sept. 172 Æfter Cristes upastignesse he gelærde twa [v.r. twua] mægða to godes geleafan. OE 1095 Ða hie getruwedon on twa healfa fæste frioðuwære. c1000 (Corpus Cambr.) ii. 24 Twa turtlan, oððe twegen culfran briddas. c1175 7 Þe castel þe wes aȝeines drih[t]nes twa leornikenehtes; he bitacnet þeos world. ?c1225 (?a1200) (Cleo. C.vi) (1972) 8 Þer beoð twa dalen to twa manere. a1400 504 Hys schelde in twoo peces off. c1485 i. 240 To sle all the children..within to yeer of age. 1530 J. Palsgrave 594/1 Two wyttes be farre better than one. 1533 J. Bellenden tr. Livy (1901) I. iii. v. 256 The solempne preistis, namyt the two men, war commandit to serche þe werkis of Cibil. c1540 (?a1400) 310 Tow pyllers he pight..Vppon Gades groundes. 1611 (1866) 214 Two tailors goe to a man. 1671 J. Milton i. 159 To conquer Sin and Death the two grand foes. View more context for this quotation a1771 T. Gray Satire in (1884) I. 134 As like as two beans. 1850 J. McCosh (ed. 2) iii. ii. 334 The two inductive methods of acquiring knowledge..are observation and experiment. 1875 T. W. Higginson vii. 49 No two explorers agreed about the actual shape of the coast. 1942 (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 (B ed.) 20 Dec. 14/7 The discussion concerning writers about old age in your column..impels me to add my 2 cents' worth. c1330 R. Mannyng (1810) 52 Emme þe quene..of þe whilk was born Alfred & Edward, Hardknoute þe þrid, Þe tuo first of Eilred, of Knoute Hardknoute tid. a1375 (c1350) (1867) l. 2162 Tvo þe bremest white beres þat euer burn on loked. c1471 J. Fortescue (1869) 459 Than nedith it, that the Kyngs Lyvelood..be gretter than the Lyvelood of two the grettest Lords in Englond. 1556 J. Olde tr. R. Gwalther f. 70 I haue..expounded two the furst. 1560 J. Daus tr. J. Sleidane f. xliiijv Which two last were not agreed vpon. 1626 F. Bacon §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. G. F. Biondi Ep. Ded. The translation of the two first bookes of..Sir Phillip Sydney's Arcadia. 1669 S. Sturmy iv. 205 In the 12th and 13th, or last two Columns of your Journal. 1688 J. Dryden To make a third, she joined the former two. 1692 S. Patrick xiv. 100 The two first of them. 1692 S. Patrick xiv. 100 The two next. 1704 T. Hearne (1714) I. 134 He wrote the Life of Alexander in x Books, whereof the first two are lost. 1805 R. Southey Let. 15 Nov. in C. C. Southey (1850) II. 353 The two best ships in the navy. 1829 J. Mill (1869) II. 329 The association theory may account for the two last, but not for the former. 1487 (a1380) J. Barbour (St. John's Cambr.) v. 369 In schort tym men mycht se ly Þe twapart ded, or þan deand. 1487 (a1380) J. Barbour (St. John's Cambr.) v. 47 Mair than twa part of his rout. 1535 W. Stewart tr. H. Boethius (1858) II. 21 He loissit be Storme of the Se the Tua Part of his Schippis. 1565 in J. H. Burton (1877) 1st Ser. I. 334 To confisk thair gudis, the twa daill to the Quenis Majesteis behuif, and the thrid to the conservatour. 1572 (a1500) (1882) 123 He tyt the King be the nek, twa part in tene. ?1611 G. Chapman tr. Homer x. 223 Two parts of night are past, the third is left. 1637–50 J. Row (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 G. Mackenzie i. 234 The two part thereof belongs to the King, and the third to the Sherriffs. 1808–25 J. 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. the world > relative properties > number > specific numbers > two > [adverb] > twice a1450 (1906) 43 The auicion come to hem bi two tymes. 1490 W. Caxton tr. (1885) iii. 67 He was discomfyted two tymes. 1535 Ecclus. xlv. 14 Daylie perfourmed he his burntofferinges two tymes. 1574 E. Hellowes tr. A. de Guevara 174 Two times I haue moued the Cardinall Tortosa in your busines. 1916 at Two 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. the world > relative properties > number > specific numbers > two > fact of being second > [adjective] 1586 W. Webbe sig. G.i Make short either the two, foure, sixe, eight, tenne, twelue sillable. 1824 T. De Quincey Dialogues Three Templars in May 564/1 Column two. 1911 c. 14 §1 The additional duty..imposed by the second paragraph of section two of that Act. 1916 at Two Mod. Hymn number two. 2. the world > relative properties > number > specific numbers > two > [noun] > two things or persons the mind > language > statement > agreement, concurrence, or unanimity > agreement [phrase] c882 ann. 882 (Parker MS.) Ælfred..þara scipa tu [Laud MS. twa] genam. c890 tr. Bede (1890) i. xvi. [xxvii.] 70 Wer & wiif, heo tu beoð in anum lichoman. c1175 31 He wule..eaten..et ane mele swa muchel swa et twam. c1175 (Burchfield transcript) l. 429 Swa ne didenn nohht ta twa. ?c1225 (?a1200) (Cleo. C.vi) (1972) 298 Iþeos tweire monglunge. c1230 (?a1200) (Corpus Cambr.) (1962) 105 For moni reisun... Twa ich chulle seggen. c1390 (?c1350) (1871) l. 184 Þe bark of þat on semede dimmore þen ouþer of þe oþer two. a1400 (a1325) (Vesp.) l. 308 Þe hali gost comms of hem tua. c1425 Cast. Persev. 679 in 97 To may not to-gedyr stonde, but I, Bakbyter, be þe thyrde. 1488 (c1478) Hary (Adv.) (1968–9) iv. l. 785 Twa him beheld and said, ‘We will go se’. ?1518 R. Copland tr. P. Gringore (new ed.) sig. A.iv I wyll..a wyfe to me take For to encreace both our twoos lynage. 1535 Eccl. iv. 9 Two are better then one. 1556 in J. G. Nichols (1852) 55 Too of the men that labord at yt. 1560 Amos iii. 3 Can two walke together except thei be agreed? 1596 J. Dalrymple tr. J. Leslie (1888) I. 298 Ilk of the tua slayis vthir. c1610–15 tr. Gregory of Nazianzus Life St. Gorgonia in C. Horstmann (1886) 166 Committed to our twoes knowledge onelie. 1612 W. Colson A j b The generall parts..are only two, or of two sorts. c1620 A. Hume (1870) Ded. 1 Nae tuae of the tuentie..wald agree. 1653 W. Ramesey 335 Here is two to two,..we stand upon equal terms. 1766 T. Pennant ii. 123 The males, or Ruffes, assume such variety of colors..that it is scarce possible to see two alike. 1779 J. Warner in J. H. Jesse (1844) IV. 101 The Ministry carried it two to one. 1820 J. Keats Hyperion: a Fragm. i, in 150 These two were postured motionless. 1847 A. Helps 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 Ld. Tennyson i. iv. 31 The two were fellow-prisoners. 1956 H. Kurnitz x. 71 ‘He was an amnesia victim.’ ‘That makes two of us,’ said Zorn bitterly. 1974 P. Dickinson ii. 37 She wanted reassurance. That makes two of us, he thought. 1980 A. E. Fisher ix. 116 ‘She barely understands anything that is g-going on.’ ‘That makes two of us,’ he said. the world > time > particular time > [adjective] > of the time of day > of specific times c1485 in (1882) 167 At the parvyse I wyll be.., be-twyn two and three. 1510 in I. S. Leadam (1911) II. 72 Abowt twoo of the Clok in the nyght. a1616 W. Shakespeare (1623) iv. i. 168 By two a clock I will be with thee againe. View more context for this quotation ?1795 H. Macneill 18 Now that nightly meetings Sat and drank frae sax till twa. 1799 W. Wordsworth v The minster-clock has just struck two. 1884 A. Wainwright in July 272/1 From two o'clock..until ‘two-fifteen’, the ‘two-twenty’ train gradually fills. c. the world > relative properties > wholeness > mutual relation of parts to whole > separation > apart or asunder [phrase] the world > relative properties > number > specific numbers > two > division into two > [adverb] c890 ann. 885 (Parker MS.) Her to dælde se fore sprecena here on tu [v.r. twa]. c1000 (Corpus Cambr.) xv. 38 Þæs temples wah-rift wæs tosliten on twa [Lindisf. & Rushw. in tuu]. c1275 Passion of our Lord 448 in 50 Hi nolden hyne nouht delen a to ne a þreo. a1400 (a1325) (Vesp.) l. 1957 O beist has clouen fote in tua [Gött. to, Trin. Cambr. two]. c1400 5942 Ther he smot on-two his polle. 1535 1 Sam. ii. 31 I wyll breake thyne arme in two. 1623 W. Gouge §15 The massy timber shivered in two. 1794–5 in B. Ward (1909) II. 119 A Collier's vessel fell foul of ours, and broke the cable in two. 1805 G. McIndoe 107 This trout..Was faulded in twa like a speldin. c897 K. Ælfred tr. Gregory vii. 49 Ðeah heo an tu tefleowe, ðeah wæs sio æspryng sio soðe lufu. c1000 Ælfric I. 388 Ða..wearð him [sc. Paul and Barnabas] geþuht þæt hi on-twa ferdon. a1500 (?c1400) (Cambr.) (1937) l. 60 Betwene the quene and the kyng Was grete sorowe..When they schulde parte in twoo. the world > life > source or principle of life > birth > confinement > be confined [verb (intransitive)] > give birth 1788 E. Picken 43 She fell in twa wi' little din. the world > relative properties > number > specific numbers > two > pair > [adverb] c1000 Ælfric II. 528 He sende hi twam and twam ætforan him. c1290 I. 281/109 He saiȝ þe freres go Þoruȝ þe londe, two and two. a1400 (a1325) (Vesp.) l. 1713 Ȝee sal..tak..Beist and fouxul..þe meke be þam ai tua and tua, þe wild do be þam-self al-sua. c1400 (Roxb.) xix. 87 Before þe chariot gase..all þe maydens of þe cuntree, twa and twa togyder. c1440 J. Capgrave iv. 1264 The clerkis eke were sette be too and too. c1515 Ld. Berners tr. (1882–7) lxii. 216 Guyer held his brother Gerames by the hande, and so all the other .ii. and .ii. c1575 J. Hooker Life Sir P. Carew in (1840) 28 144 Foremoste wente all the soylders..by tooe and tooe. 1604 E. Grimeston tr. J. de Acosta vi. xxviii. 494 They daunced two and two. 1697 J. Dryden tr. Virgil Georgics iii, in tr. Virgil 104 Join'd with his School-Fellows, by two and two [rhyme pursue] . View more context for this quotation 1709–10 J. Addison No. 120. ⁋3 Coming out Two by Two, and marching up in Pairs. 1863 A. P. Stanley App. i. 153 We started on foot, two and two, between two files of soldiers. the world > relative properties > number > arithmetic or algebraic operations > [noun] 1612 W. Colson A j b The..Rules of two, of three, of Reduction. 1612 W. Colson 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. c893 tr. Orosius vi. ii. §1 Þara twa & twentigra monna. a900 29 On þone twa & twentigðan dæg. OE (Corpus Cambr.) xiii. 37 Se twa and feowertigeða sealm. c1200 47 On þe two and þrittuðe dai. 1297 (Rolls) 11861 To & tuenti kniȝtes. c1380 Antecrist in Todd 121 In þe two and þritti boke. 1488–92 in T. Dickson (1877) I. 80 Sex score twa bedis and a knop. c1540 (?a1400) 2747 There were twenty and too. 1579 W. Fulke Heskins Parl. Repealed in 201 The two and twentieth Chapter. 1613 in C. Beswick (2004) In the chaire organ 1 flute of wood, 1 two and twentith of mettal. a1777 S. Foote (1778) iii. 60 The two-and-fiftieth part of a scruple. 1896 ‘Iota’ 137 Two-and-thirty last March. OE 184 Hæfde him alesen leoda dugeðe tireadigra twa þusendo. c1000 (Corpus Cambr.) vi. 7 On twegera hundred penega wurþe. c1275 (?a1200) Laȝamon (Calig.) (1963) l. 780 Þa he hefde twa [c1300 Otho two] hundred mid sweorde to-hewen. c1290 I. 91/145 In þe to hondrede ȝere. 1548 f. cxlvijv Twoo hundred thousande Crounes. 1807 Herschel in (Royal Soc.) 97 228 Its thickness at one end was 33, and at the other 31 two-hundredths of an inch. 1867 C. Thirlwall (1881) II. 118 The two hundred mile long iceberg is still afloat. 1895 B. M. Croker (1896) 122 Tall and erect,..carrying his two-score years with grace. 1897 29 439/1 A two-hundred-pound buck. the world > textiles and clothing > clothing > types or styles of clothing > [adjective] > of specific length a1648 Ld. Herbert (1976) 32 The other two third parts.] 1776 A. Smith I. i. xi. 288 In the Saxon times, the fleece was estimated at two-fifths of the value of the whole sheep. View more context for this quotation 1777 W. Robertson (1783) III. 263 All laws..must be approved of by two-thirds of the members. 1888 F. Rutley 3 The wire is then bent to about two-thirds of a circle. 1910 H. W. Steed in III. 38/2 The German parties..stipulated that a two-thirds majority should be necessary for any alteration of the law. 1963 Oct. 56/2 This dreamy two-thirds coat. 1980 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. the world > relative properties > number > specific numbers > two > [adjective] > two distinct 1570 T. Wilson in tr. Demosthenes 42 (margin) To say and to do are two things. a1616 W. Shakespeare (1623) ii. iv. 113 Ignomie in ransome, and free pardon Are of two houses. View more context for this quotation 1753 S. Richardson I. xii. 66 A learned man and a linguist may very well be two persons. 1797 E. Burke Lett. Peace Regic. France iii, in (1815) VIII. 273 But reason of state and common sense are two things. 1865 J. Ruskin i. 54 There need be no two opinions about these proceedings. 1895 G. S. Street 134 Gerald in town and Gerald in the country were two people. the mind > language > statement > dissent or disagreement > [adjective] 1650 J. Howell Addit. Lett. xxiii. 37 in (ed. 2) The Author thereof and I are two in point of opinion. 1738 J. Swift 105 When did you see your old Acquaintance, Mrs. Cloudy? You and She are Two, I hear. 5. the world > relative properties > number > plurality > fewness > [noun] > a small number of a1400 (a1325) (Vesp.) l. 4342 Spek wit me a word or tua. 1543 in I. S. Leadam (1911) II. 267 A moneth or Towe before the said Faire. 1587 A. Fleming et al. (new ed.) III. Contin. 1419/1 After a daie or twooes tariance. 1615–16 in J. C. Jeaffreson (1886) II. 113 To answere the causing of a tumult.., a poore man or two being much hurt. 1773 O. Goldsmith v. 88 An hour or two's laughing with my daughter. 1861 M. Pattison in Apr. 413 The garden, where a vine or two and some of the finer sorts of fruit were trained. the world > relative properties > number > plurality > fewness > [adjective] > small in number 1557 (1872) 240 The baillies, accumpanit with the thesaurare and tua thre honest men. 1568 in W. T. Ritchie (1928) II. 197 Ȝeiris and dayis mo than two or thre. 1669 in (Friends' Hist. Soc.) (1913) 4th Ser. 296 Here is many theeues and two Three murtherers and aboue thirty quakers in the Castle. 1670 Lady M. Bertie in (1890) App. v. 21 The under pettycoatt very richly laced with two or three sorts of lace. 1787 R. Burns Death & Dr. Hornbook xxiv, in (new ed.) xxiv. 63 In twa-three year. 1843 G. Borrow II. x. 205 The walls being covered with books, except in two or three places. 1893 R. L. Stevenson xv. 166 She was daundering on the craigs wi' twa-three sodgers. 1930 W. Faulkner 83 It'd taken them two-three days to got her to town in the wagon. 1949 L. Hughes 40 I knock on your door About two-three A.M. 1962 J. F. Straker ii. 13 You'll have to wait two-three days if you don't go now. 1976 A. Price i. viii. 159 The last two-three years he's been working on a post-graduate thesis. the world > relative properties > number > plurality > fewness > [adjective] > small in number 1661 in (Friends' Hist. Soc.) (1911) 2nd Ser. 136 We humbly intreate two lynes from your hands. 1818 W. Scott Heart of Mid-Lothian ix, in 2nd Ser. III. 229 I will explain to you in two words the connection betwixt this young woman and me. a1845 S. Smith (1850) Lect. xix. 280 I never could find any man who could think for two minutes together. 1956 N. Marsh (1957) v. 92 I wonder if I may have two words with Dame Alice Mardian? B. n. 1. the world > relative properties > number > specific numbers > two > [noun] the mind > mental capacity > understanding > reason, faculty of reasoning > process of reasoning, ratiocination > process of inferring, inference > infer, conclude [verb (transitive)] > based on hypothesis or data 1695 J. Collier 80 The..Notion..is as clear as that Two and Two makes Four. 1848 W. M. Thackeray xvii. 65 When will you acknowledge that two and two make four, and call a pikestaff a pikestaff? 1849 E. Bulwer-Lytton 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 W. M. Thackeray II. xi. 111 Putting two and two together..it was not difficult..to guess who the expected Marquis was. 1875 W. D. Whitney 279 Mathematics began with the apprehension that one and one are two. 1898 W. W. Jacobs Disbursm. Sheet in (1906) 138 Twenty-eight twos equals fifty-six. the world > relative properties > number > specific numbers > two > [noun] > the figure denoting 1877 21 Nov. 5/5 Two and two don't always make four, but sometimes 22. 1886 23 Feb. 84/2 ‘2222’. Four twos! the world > relative properties > number > specific numbers > two > [noun] > the figure denoting > person or thing denoted by 1890 Apr. 499 Smith who rowed two in the last University race. 1890 ‘R. Boldrewood’ (1891) 288 [We] are having a glass of champagne; will you join us?—it is ‘number two’. 2. the world > relative properties > number > specific numbers > two > pair > [noun] a1585 Ld. Polwart 208 In anes and twaes. a1616 W. Shakespeare (1623) i. ii. 438 By twoes, and threes. View more context for this quotation 1625 in R. Sanderson (1726) XVIII. 237/1 Eighte greate Rocke Rubies and twenty greate Pearles sett in twoes. a1758 A. Ramsay xvii. 20 Pike out joys by twas and threes. 1866 C. Kingsley II. xv. 250 They would lodge by twos and threes..in the lonely farm-house. 1902 V. Jacob ix The people dispersed in twos and threes. society > leisure > entertainment > pastimes > game > card game > card or cards > [noun] > number card > others society > leisure > entertainment > pastimes > game > games of chance > dice-playing > [noun] > throw > (throw of) specific number a1500 17 Ȝe that haue sys, dewes, and too. 1680 C. Cotton (ed. 2) 12 You have..turn'd up two two's, or two treys. 1916 at Two Mod. He took the trick with the two of trumps. society > armed hostility > military operations > evolution > [noun] > wheeling > unit in 1796 140 The two's must first wheel up, and then break into three's, and close up. 1833 i. Pl. 16 fig. 1 Twos from the Right at three horses length distance 2 change Right hand to Right hand. society > leisure > sport > types of sport or game > ball game > cricket > batting > [noun] > types of stroke > for specific number of runs 1881 21 June 3/7 A capital innings, which included seven fours, a three, and four twos. the world > food and drink > drink > intoxicating liquor > distilled drink > [noun] > specific quantity of 1894 Henty i I don't mind if I do take a two of gin with you. 1896 23 Sept. 3/5 He had had six twos of whiskey. society > travel > means of travel > a conveyance > vehicle > cart, carriage, or wagon > [noun] > drawn by specific number or arrangement 1823 E. Nares (1824) I. 355 Driving their fours-in-hand, and twos-at-length. the world > time > relative time > immediacy > [adverb] the world > time > duration > shortness or brevity in time > [adverb] > instantaneously or with a short space of time 1838 T. C. Haliburton 2nd Ser. xiv. 211 The press can lash us up to a fury here in two twos any day. 1838 T. C. Haliburton 2nd Ser. xxi. 315 They'd soon set these matters right in two twos. 1882 R. L. Stevenson II. 112 The business was over in two twos. 1934 T. Wood iii. 25 He said we'd be there in two ups. 1941 S. J. Baker 79 Two ups, in, in a brief space of time. 1967 J. Morrison in 133 Too close to dark now, Mister, but we'll have you out of that in two ups in the morning. 1931 6 June 410/1 Webb showed me, not only many portraits of well-known actors in character,..but ‘twos,’ ‘fours,’ and ‘sixes,’ to use a technicality describing the number of characters printed on each sheet. C. adv.the world > relative properties > number > specific numbers > two > multiplication by two > [adverb] c900 ann. 897 Lang scipu..þa wæron fulneah tu swa lange swa þa oðru. c1350 1446 Now am y two so lyght. a1400 3128 The hethenes wer twoo so fele. c1420 (Camden) l He wold gif hom toe so muche..As any lord. Compounds Combinations (unlimited in number; the following are examples). C1. a. Adjectives formed of two with a noun in sense ‘of, pertaining to, consisting of, having, containing, measuring, etc. two of the things named’. 1882 F. M. Crawford xi A two-anna bit. 1967 ‘M. Hunter’ x. 65 He warmed his hands briefly at the two-bar fire. 1880 N. Brooks 184 Ned made a fine two base hit which brought Watson home amidst great excitement. 1974 J. H. Subak-Sharpe et al. in M. J. Carlile & J. J. Skehel 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 20 June 8/5 A short two-bearing auxiliary shaft. 1960 E. L. Delmar-Morgan 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 July 18/2 Two-beat swing.., swing in which the accent is on the second or fourth beats. 1978 16 Apr. 11 c/2 Chet Bogan plays two-beat, Dixiebelle sing same. 1792 H. Newdigate Let. Feb. in A. E. Newdigate-Newdegate (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 (1963) lx. 461 Bachelor quarters varied from small two-bed to larger four-bed and six-bed rooms. 1969 M. Pugh xxi. 164 He made out sleeper tickets for us..and we shared a two-berth compartment. 1967 9/1 Propulsion is provided by two two-blade metal variable pitch propellers. 1983 10 Sept. 703/1 A pair of two-blade teetering rotors are mounted 50° apart. 1674 J. Ray 133 A two-bond wire as big as a great pack-thread. 1805 R. W. Dickson I. 409 The two-bout ridges, as they are called, may be the most advantageous. 1794 W. Marshall in (1796) II. 61 The Corn Market well filled with long two-bushel bags; chiefly of wheat. 1927 9 Apr. 89 This is a two-car country. 1961 M. Beadle (1963) viii. 105 Two-car families are rare in England. 1964 J. W. Linnett 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 16 Feb. 7/6 The advantages or disadvantages of a bi-cameral system,..a two-Chamber system. 1939 (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 (1974) xvi. 203 A blaring juke-box and two-channel television. 1979 H. Kissinger xx. 827 The two-channel system and its significance. 1907 Spring–Summer 43/1 Men's fancy Sweaters,..medium weight, two color effect. 1925 I. A. Richards xxvii. 211 Macbeth..is a highly successful, easily apprehended, two-colour melodrama. 1967 E. Chambers xv. 236 The wide use of lithography for colour work has resulted in the development of two-colour machines. 1916 E. Wallace Let. 13 Nov. in M. Gilbert (1972) III. Compan. ii. 1583 Do a two column story. 1956 18 Feb. 328/2 Only two-component solvent systems were investigated. 1966 1 Sept. 297/1 As Margaret Mead puts it: ‘The recent two-cultures discussion is essentially a lament about..lack of communication.’ 1901 9 Dec. 8/2 Rigal, on his two-cylinder, 12-h.p. tricycle. 1898 Nov. 829 They..can only make two-day..cruises. 1797 XVII. 403/2 In all two-deck ships it [the fire hearth] is placed under the forecastle. 1960 29 Mar. 93/1 Sending the farm two-deck lorry to the south-west and back. 1963 Rep. Comm. Inq. Decimal Currency 9 in (Cmnd. 2145) XI. 195 People find considerably greater difficulty in remembering and manipulating three-digit numbers than two-digit numbers. 1793 3 Jan. (1849) 788 The miserable two-dollar men who were raised for a six months' service. 1873 T. B. Hazard (1930) 414/2 Went to Thomas Rodmans Store to get a two dollar bill changed. 1929 Autumn 68 He hated what he called ‘two-dollar words’ and ‘high hat’ manners. 1908 No. 117. 61/1 The two-door automatic Model ‘A’ desk cabinet. 1982 1 Aug. 6/2 You can get a 1.8 litre, two-door, four-seat sports saloon for £5,950. 1926 H. C. Macpherson 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 9 187/1 The two-electrode Fleming valve. 1890 W. J. Gordon 223 The percentage of profit..may be a fraction with a two-figure denominator. 1898 F. M. Hueffer in Aug. 182 A two-figure sketch by Burne-Jones. 1900 11 July 7/5 A..two-floor building. 1866 R. M. Ferguson 57 The two-fluid theory of Dufay and Symmers, and the one-fluid theory of Franklin. 1876 W. H. Preece & J. Sivewright 244 Two-fluid batteries. 1946 23 Mar. 74/2 One of those two-front wars which ‘Mein Kampf’ had sensibly argued couldn't be won. 1693 T. Power tr. Juvenal in J. Dryden et al. tr. Juvenal xii. 243 A two Gallon draught. 1803 Hatchett in (Royal Soc.) 93 137 A two-guinea piece. 1818 33 368 A man, who, bred to the bar, had never had a two-guinea fee in his life. 1880 ‘M. Twain’ xix. 171 A two-hour pedestrian excursion. 1900 15 Nov. 2/1 We..did not dismount except for a two-hour halt till three p.m. 1639 J. Taylor 184 I will make you looke through a two inch boord [i.e. pillory]. 1748 B. Robins & R. Walter iii. viii. 380 A strong net-work of two inch rope. 1859 F. A. Griffiths (1862) 309 A two-inch rope means a rope two inches in circumference. 1869 Ann. Rep. Commissioner Agric. 1868 328 in (40th Congr., 3rd Sess.: House of Representatives Executive Doc.) XV A fountain capable of filling..a two-inch pipe. 1969 31 Mar. 2/1 The two-income family spends 15 per cent more on alcohol. 1613 W. Browne I. iv. 74 I sought for shelter to a ruin'd house, Harb'ring the Weasell, and the dust-bred Mouse; And others none, except the two-kinde Bat. 1957 J. Kerouac ii. viii. 156 On a two-lane highway to Baton Rouge in purple darkness. 1957 H. Whitehall in N. Frye ii. 142 Metrical patterns..based on the two-level contrast of stressed versus unstressed syllables. 1981 Summer 23/1 A glassed-in two-level public seating area provides a view of busy False Creek. 1845 S. R. Glynne (Chetham Soc.) (1894) 56 There are large gargoyles at the angles..; in the second stage a two-light window. 1859 K. Cornwallis I. 221 The sunshine glancing through a two-light window. 1895 26 399/1 A two-man balloon. 1911 Jan. 215 The two-man Government..becomes one-man Government. 1775 in (Royal Soc.) (1779) 68 400 A small two-mast vessel. 1804 11 456 A Petiàugua, a two-mast boat used by the Caribs. 1924 O. Jespersen 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 II. viii. 261 The city of Dundee in 1908..was, like Oldham, a two-member, primarily working-class, constituency. 1875 W. S. Hayward 117 A two-mile spin. 1895 27 48/1 A two-minute gait [i.e. at the rate of a mile in 2 minutes; cf. two-forty in 2]. 1905 23 Dec. 2/3 There were two-minute intervals between the start of each bob. 1890 J. S. Billings II Two-needles operation, tearing through a secondary cataract by two needles introduced from opposite sides. 1891 Two-needle operation. 1838 C. Dickens II. xxiii. 50 A two-ounce tin tea-caddy. 1952 V. Wilkins i. ix. 131 The involved two-pack patience game known as ‘Maréchal Saxe’. 1977 10 Mar. 295/2 He is a two-pack smoker, drinks on occasion to keep going. 1928 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. 1901 Oct. 506 It is..premature to suppose..that the two-party system has..broken up. 1961 5 Jan. 50/3 Mr. Saunders's two-pedal system..interested me, so I tried it on my car. 1920 D. H. Lawrence vii. 134 Madame and the German did a screaming two-person farce. 1977 17 Oct. 93/1 A new playwright..made a pleasing début on Broadway..with a harsh little two-person comedy. 1909 Suppl. Two-phase circuit..Two-phase generator..Two-phase system. 1953 S. Kauffmann xv. 242 Turning the phonograph very low, he played the Mozart two-piano concerto. 1978 Ld. Drogheda 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. the world > matter > physics > electromagnetic radiation > electricity > electrical appliances or devices > [adjective] > having specific pins 1894 D. Salomons (ed. 7) II. vi. 233 The plug to be used with this connector is of the two-pin type. 1962 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 §17. 83 Both functions are two-place functions; i.e. they possess two arguments. 1963 W. V. Quine §1. 13 Suppose the only primitive predicate of some theory is a two-place predicate. 1847 Two-ply..double; consisting of two thicknesses, as cloth. 1960 1 Mar. 131/1 Experience has proved this two-point system. 1972 J. Potter 180 The plane made a jerky two-point landing. 1951 XXVIII. 101/2 Two-position (bistable) trigger circuits. 1960 8 Mar. 108/2 Two-position Hitch. Easy for field or transport. 1552 R. Huloet Two pounde weight, dipondium. 1887 Royal Proclam. in 18 May 3/2 Every Two Pound Piece should have the same obverse and reverse impression..as the Five Pound Piece. 1727 N. Chomel at Fryars Balsam Put..into a Two-quart-Bottle. 1844 25 July 3/6 A two rail fence. 1929 P. G. Wodehouse ix. 301 Come on, let's beef in or we'll be missing the educational two-reel comic. 1978 18 Mar. 15/1 Within the next couple of years he made over 20 two-reel Westerns. 1897 M. L. Hughes ii. 62 The staff-sergeant..occupied a two-room quarter. 1869 Ann. Rep. Commissioner Agric. 1868 251 in (40th Congr., 3rd Sess.: House of Representatives Executive Doc.) XV The Strength of Two-Row Hedges when Pleached. 1895 Spring & Summer 580/2 Two-seat business wagons. 1903 11 Apr. 155/3 An up-to-date two-seat petrol car. 1933 O. Jespersen 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 J. T. Talamini & C. H. Page 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. 1789 J. Woodforde 11 June (1927) III. 112 Briton also went into the 2 Shilling Gallery. 1880 2 Oct. 424/1 Our two-shilling dinner. 1882 A. Somerville in G. Smith (1891) x. 240 Some two-shilling pieces. 1925 P. J. Risdon 16 A two-slider tuner enables a large amount of inductance to be employed in the receiver circuit. 1875 E. H. Knight 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 XXIII. 560 Two-speed gears. 1944 R. V. Jones (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 183 The Skybolt was a two-stage solid fuel missile. 1979 Summer 50 ‘Hypocrisy displayed’, then, is a two-stage process, a masking followed by an unmasking. 1859 W. Collins I. 242 A two-stall stable. 1796 16 Apr. 3/4 That certain One-Story Frame-shop in front, and Two-Story Frame Messuage. 1833 B. Silliman 30 The Sugar house is a high two story building. 1866 A. D. Richardson ii. 38 We took a two-story car of the Baronne street railway. 1880 J. Dunbar 9 A two-storey building. 1929 J. de F. Shelton ii. 23 Queen Anne laid a tax on all two-story houses in the colonies. 1977 9 Sept. 2/3 Spacious late-nineteenth-century two-storey terrace houses. 1982 W. Boyd (1983) ii. ii. 120 He passed the..two-storey building. 1918 4 317 A ‘two-stripe doctor’. 1891 S. Mostyn 47 Peace be to his manes—this, dear ladies, is a two-syllable word. 1933 A. N. Whitehead 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 i. 26 A two-term relation between the word and the referent. 1968 L. Fox & D. F. Mayers i. 4 A better approach is to observe that, with a single integration by parts, we can find the two-term recurrence relation. 1981 6 Aug. 8/7 A programme which can be implemented only by a two-term Government. 1932 26 Nov. 12/3 If their system were a two-tier system, the element of uncertainty was reduced to a minimum. 1933 9 Nov. 9/2 Before leaving the building they paused to visit one of the new two-tier book-stacks on the ground floor. 1937 Oct. 194/1 Ionic impost capitals,..two-tier capitals. 1969 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 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. 1811 23 Jan. 3/2 A two top-sail sch[ooner] was at H Hole on Saturday. 1944 J. Masefield 137 There used to be that kind of schooner. She was called a ‘two-topsail schooner’ or a ‘maintopsail schooner’. 1934 27 Oct. 602/2 It is useless approaching these circles with two-track class-war propaganda. 1961 G. A. Briggs 200 Regular supplies of high quality 7½″/sec pre-recorded stereo tapes will be available, giving twice the playing time of previous two-track issues. 1977 13 Oct. 18/1 Had President Kennedy been pursuing a ‘two-track’ policy of offering Castro friendship while plotting his murder? 1925 I. A. Richards 1 In a pamphlet or in a two-volume work. 1978 6 544/1 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 Jan. i. 16 He plowed up the Surface..with a two-wheel pecked Share-Plough. 1800 19 July 2/4 A new two-wheel cart barrow. 1930 28 Feb. 278/3 Power distribution is at 230 volts in the two-wire system. 1961 W. F. Leopold in S. Saporta & J. R. Bastian 357/1 Two-word verbs of the type ‘wake up’. 1977 N. Sahgal xi. 115 They had labelled him with destructive little one and two-word flourishes that could smear an image for millions of readers. b. Parasynthetic adjectives formed on similar collocations, usually with -ed suffix2, in sense ‘having or characterized by two of the things named’. (a) 1897 W. C. Hazlitt II. 183 The two-arched bridge at Rugby. 1725 A. Ramsay v. iii. Prol. Sir William fills the twa-arm'd chair. 1957 J. S. Bruner in 64 146/2 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 25 Poetry is not only the bridging of two-banked rivers. 1894 R. B. Sharpe I. 59 The two-barred Crossbill. Loxia bifasciata. 1852 G. C. Mundy II. iv. 93 Two-barrelled guns. 1784 H. Newdigate Let. in A. E. Newdigate-Newdegate (1898) iv. 59 We have obtained to Sleep to-night in a tollerable two bedded Room. 1788 J. Woodforde 19 May (1927) III. 26 I slept at the Kings Head, in a two bedded Room. 1843 G. Borrow I. vii. 121 A large two-bedded room. 1900 13 Oct. 6/4 The propeller is two-bladed. 1681 N. Grew i. vii. i. 156 The Two-Bristled-Fly. 1793 T. Martyn sig. U8 Two-capsuled. 1793 T. Martyn sig. C4 Bilocular pericarp, two-celled, divided into two cells internally... Some seeds are also two-celled. 1851 G. F. Richardson (1855) viii. 229 A two-chambered heart. 1888 J. Bryce II. xl. 86 Its two-chambered legislature. 1648 H. Hexham Twee-verwigh, two-coloured, or Partie-coloured. 1827 E. Griffith et al. V. 251 Sciurus Bicolor (Two-coloured Squirrel). 1885 W. Pater II. xx A two-sided or two-coloured thing. 1922 J. Joyce ii. xv. [Circe] 448 Tom Rochford..jumps from his twocolumned machine. 1883 (1886) 2 A two-decked ship. So named from having two gun decks below the upper deck. the world > relative properties > number > geometry > geometric space > [adjective] > of dimensions > of specific number of 1885 W. K. Clifford 223 Two-dimensioned space. 1931 Feb. 154 The standard two-engined type. 1966 D. Francis v. 64 Small two-engined job..cost nearly thirty-five pounds per flying hour to hire. 1910 W. de la Mare 47 A behemothian bull-Ephelanto..wound his long, two-fingered trunk round Nod's belly. 1978 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 (1983) ii. iv. 341 He was an adequate two-fingered typist. 1793 T. Martyn sig. U8 Two-flowered peduncle. 1909 20 Mar. 3/5 Here you first find the two-flowered yellow violet..3,500 feet above the level of the sea. 1749 P. Francis tr. Horace (ed. 3) I. 205 A two-form'd Poet. 1934 D. Thomas in Oct. 28 The two framed globe that spun into a score. 1856 J. G. Whittier 12 The two-fronted Future... To-day, your servant, subject to your will; To-morrow, master, or for good or ill. 1793 T. Martyn sig. F8 Dicoccous or two-grained capsule, consisting of two cohering grains or cells, with one seed in each. 1846 W. Greener (new ed.) 357 A two-grooved rifle. 1936 D. Thomas 44 And from the windy West came two-gunned Gabriel. 1949 10 Oct. 47/2 Accompanied by a grim, 200-lb., two-gunned Big Spring sheriff. society > occupation and work > equipment > tool > parts of tools generally > [adjective] > handle or stock > provided with > with two 1839 A. Ure 764 The fleshing knife; a large two-handled implement [with] which the hide is scraped. 1877 J. D. Chambers 258 A two-handled Chalice. 1561 J. Daus tr. H. Bullinger ii. 11 The old seuen headed, and the newe two horned beaste. 1628 A. Leighton (1842) ix. 121 A two-horned idol, pushing both the Church and Commonwealth. 1781 T. Pennant I. 136 Two-horned Rhinoceros. 1793 T. Martyn sig. C3v Bicornes (two-horned), plants with anthers having two horns. 1848 J. S. Mill (1876) ii. viii. §3 189 A cowhouse for two-horned cattle. 1939 W. B. Yeats 31 There in a two horsed carriage..Great bladdered Emer sat. 1834 (Libr. Useful Knowl.) III. Phys. Geogr. 55/2 The two-humped or Bactrian camel. 1793 T. Martyn sig. U8v Two-lobed leaf. 1847 W. E. Steele 167 Neottia,..lip dependant, 2-lobed. 1774 33 Two-masted vessels. 1905 29 Nov. 2/2 A two-membered constituency. 1909 R. Law i. 2 Two-membered sentences. 1661 T. Ross tr. Silius Italicus i. 13 By the Banks of two-nam'd Ister. 1931 R. Graves 17 Two-named one, how shall I call you without duplicity? 1854 J. Scoffern in 14 The mouths of a two-necked bottle. 1833 W. J. Hooker in J. E. Smith V. i. 85 Leaves..two-nerved at the base. 1899 A. Conan Doyle Ded. The little two-oared boats. 1861 F. A. Paley (ed. 2) 1026 (note) The two-peaked hill of Parnassus. 1793 T. Martyn sig. U8v Two-petalled corolla. society > occupation and work > equipment > tool > parts of tools generally > [adjective] > provided with teeth or prongs 1825 T. Hook 2nd Ser. I. 186 Two-pronged forks. 1919 W. S. Churchill in M. Gilbert (1977) IV. Compan. i. 535 With Mr Balfour's approval, I made the following two-pronged proposals. 1958 O. Caroe xxiii. 375 The success of the two-pronged advance by the Khaibar and the Kurram. 1793 T. Martyn sig. G2v A distich or two-ranked stem or stalk. 1857 T. Moore (ed. 3) 38 Fructification forming two-ranked simple spikes. 1897 14 Apr. 5/1 A two-roomed home. 1793 T. Martyn sig. U8v Two-ranked or Two-rowed. 1812 J. Sinclair i. 247 Two-rowed barley. 1869 Ann. Rep. Commissioner Agric. 1868 249 in (40th Congr., 3rd Sess.: House of Representatives Executive Doc.) XV Two-rowed hedges. 1880 W. Whitman (1978) III. 642 Heavy two-seated covered voitures. 1936 G. B. Shaw 89 Between them, near the King's pavilion, is a two-seated chair of state for public audiences. 1793 T. Martyn sig. U8v Two-seeded fruit. 1626 G. Sandys tr. Ovid viii. 156 Two-shankt Compasses. 1756 P. Browne ii. ii. 328 The larger Passion-flower, with two-shanked leaves. 1613 T. Heywood iii. sig. H3v The two-shap't Centaurs. 1717 J. Addison in J. Dryden et al. tr. Ovid ii. 29 The two-shap'd Ericthonius. 1787 T. Pennant II. Suppl. iv. 132 Stickleback. Two-spinld [sic: = two-spined]. 1803 G. Shaw IV. 476 Two-spined Sparus. 1803 G. Shaw IV. 608 Two-spined Stickleback. 1813 W. Bingley (ed. 4) III. 130 The seven-spotted, and two-spotted lady-bug. 1833 J. C. Loudon §1829 A two-stalled stable. 1874 W. Black (ed. 2) I. i. 12 It was a square, two-storeyed substantial building of stone. 1977 P. G. Winslow ii. xvi. 212 The lovely, two-storeyed drawing-room. 1854 M. Cummins iii. 13 A decent two-storied house. 1878 S. Smiles ii. 9 A two-storied..house. 1851 H. Melville ix. 45 Shipmates, it is a two-stranded lesson. 1976 P. Collard v. 64 Synthetic two-stranded RNA polyinosinic acid-polycytidylic acid. 1776 C. Burney I. 206 This dichord, or two-stringed instrument. 1860 W. Whitman in 27 June 2/1 The Princes of Asia, swart-cheek'd princes, First comers, guests, two-sworded princes. 1933 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 vii. 157 Prepositional phrase in English is usually a two-termed relation. 1969 23 Jan. 103/2 The debate is two-tiered: the violence of Chicago..and the violence of the TV shows. 1979 5 Aug. d2/2 The Natural Gas Policy Act of 1978..wiped out the two-tiered pricing structure. 1601 P. Holland tr. Pliny I. xviii. vi. 557 If it be stonie, it would be digged with a mattocke or two tined forkes. 1781 T. Pennant II. 496 Two-toed S[loth] with a round head. 1872 E. Coues 49 The two-toed birds. 1742 W. Ellis Sept. xxvi. 124 These are the right profitable Sort for Fatting, and not the two-toothed Sheep. 1802 R. Hall 192 Two-toothed, bidentatus. 1828 J. Stark II. 57 Shell fusiform,..aperture two-toothed. ?1624 G. Chapman tr. Hymn to Apollo in tr. 47 Their farr-stretcht valleys, and their two-topt Hill. 1636 T. Heywood in sig. K Two-top't Pernassus. 1902 J. Torrance vii. 62 The two-topped hill of Sitabaldi. 1676 T. Hobbes tr. Homer 375 A high two-valved door. 1772 (Royal Soc.) 61 232 Two valved shells. 1889 25 219 Fruit,..two-valved, dehiscing longitudinally. 1663 S. Butler i. ii. 97 A two-wheel'd Chariot. 1733 J. Tull xxi. 139 A common Two-Wheel'd-Plow. 1886 C. E. Pascoe (ed. 3) xliii. 376 Two-wheeled cabs. 1753 Suppl. Ox-fly,..a species of two-winged fly. 1918 D. H. Lawrence 41 Who then sees the two-winged Boat down there? 1949 E. Pound (new ed.) lxxvi. 45 Benecomata dea Under the two-winged cloud. 1974 V. 819/1 Diptera, the two-winged, or ‘true’, flies. c. Parasynthetic nouns in -er suffix1. See also two-yearer n. at Compounds 2, two-decker n., two-hander n. at two-handed adj. Derivatives. 1886 18 Oct. 7/2 News Machine Wanted, fast two-feeder. 1974 26 Apr. 4- b/3 Paul Splittorff pitched a two-hitter for seven innings. 1899 A. Quiller-Couch xxiv That there two-master's got a fool for skipper. 1868 1 47 A two-mover now knocks me down. 1891 31 Jan. 148/1 Thirty-six two-movers. 1939 F. S. Fitzgerald 8 June (1964) 106 I have..over half-finished what will be a two-parter for The Saturday Evening Post. 1984 J. Wain in 28 June 30/2 They are making two plays out of it, or, perhaps more exactly, a three-hour two-parter. 1912 G. Kapp vii. 187 A machine of this kind, which from the same armature gives two independent currents displaced by a quarter period, is called a ‘two-phaser’. 1772 tr. A. J. Pernety Hist. Voy. Malouine Islands in ii. 15/1 Round stones, of the size of a two-pounder ball. society > leisure > the arts > performance arts > cinematography > a film > type of film > [noun] > other types 1928 3 June 4 The British Screen two-reeler ‘Homes of Our King’. 1979 4 Aug. 9/2 He had made a few modest pictures, two-reelers mostly. 1927 16 Dec. 581/3 Mr. Smith, senior, proud possessor of a new two-valver. 1861 3 44 What they call a ‘gig’ in those parts—a tall two-wheeler. d. Adjectives formed of two in adverbial relation to an adjective or pple. (= in two, doubly). See also two-high adj. at Compounds 2, two-forked adj., two-parted adj. at two-part adj. Derivatives. 1793 T. Martyn sig. U8 Two-cleft, or Bifid..utricularia is an instance of the two-cleft perianth. 1856 Jan. 20 Two-plowed furrows (that is, one plowed under another). c1440 497/2 Toschappyd clothe (S. tooschaptyd cloth), bilix. 1639 J. Fletcher et al. iv. ii. sig. G*1bv Wholsome two Sous'd petitoes. 1649 J. Milton xxvii. 213 To whip us with his two twisted Scorpions, both temporal and spiritual Tyranny. e. Adjectives and nouns formed from phrases. (a) 1899 9 Feb. 4/2 That hatch was of two-and-a-half inch teak. 1868 A. C. Swinburne 9 The two-days-old baby. 1905 13 July 5/1 What is known as the two-feet-nine seam. (b) a1642 H. Best (1984) 154 Bands..made of the smallest haver-strawe,..first well twined, and after that twined togeather againe after the manner of a two plette. 1861 ‘R. Harrington’ p. iii They [sc. school children] often passed a river when out for a miserable two-and-two walk. (c) 1922 20 June 8/5 Two-cum-dickey seated models of the 11-h.p. class. ?1518 sig. C.j Flaterers and two face berers. 1895 T. Hardy vi. ii. 426 O my comrade, our perfect union—our two-in-oneness—is now stained with blood! 1966 xlii. 10 Two-plus-two,..two-seater with capacity to hold two additional passengers in back. 1977 Mar. 118/3 The 104ZS is cramped in the back and is more of a two-plus-two than a proper four seater. 1836 C. Dickens 1st Ser. II. 165 Mr. Augustus Cooper had ordered a new coat..a two-pound-tenner. 1910 (ed. 12) iii. 75 The layshaft is driven by a chain instead of the usual two-to-one gear wheels. 1975 17 Nov. 117/1 The Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, in a two-to-one vote, upheld the claim. C2. Special Combinations: abbrev. society > communication > broadcasting > radio broadcasting > [noun] > radio service > specific 1923 28 Sept. 3/1 (heading) A recent talk broadcast from 2LO. 1924 A. R. Burrows 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 xxvi. 415 I would sit for an hour while the faint dream-sounds of 2LO echoed in my head. 1969 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 9/2 The pre-Savoy Hill 2LO studio at Marconi House. society > computing and information technology > programming language > program or code > [adjective] > allowing address > particular addresses 1948 3 69 The control of this machine is accomplished, for the most part, by means of three-address orders. In contrast, the ‘Mark I’ at Harvard uses a two-address system. 1953 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 P. Siegel xv. 329 A sequencing unit to be used with a drum memory and a two-address instruction is shown. 1982 G. Lee xx. 339 With 3-address instructions (as for 2-address), it is not necessary to have an accumulator. the mind > emotion > excitement > nervous excitement > [noun] 1938 ‘J. Curtis’ ix. 103 Give us a hand out, will you? I'm in a right two and eight. 1960 M. Cecil 129 Poor old Clinker! Bet she's in a proper two-and-eight! the world > physical sensation > sexual relations > sexual activity > [noun] > one who has intercourse > people in act of 1653 T. Urquhart tr. F. Rabelais iii. 18 These two did often times do the two backed beast together. 1925 G. Greene 5 The two-backed beast went trotting in my head. 1939 D. Thomas 63 Here dwell, said Sam Rib, the two-backed beasts. He pointed to his map of Love. 1973 L. Snelling ii. i. 60 Hubby got on to us. Came within an ace of catching us making the two-backed beast in his car. society > leisure > sport > types of sport or game > ball game > baseball > [noun] > batting > types of hit 1880 16 May 1/4 Willigrod, Smith and J. Whitney led at the bat, the two former getting in each a two-bagger. 1946 24 Mar. viii. 19/1 I hit a two-bagger with the bases full. society > occupation and work > equipment > mining equipment > [noun] > miner's pick society > armed hostility > military equipment > weapon > sharp weapon > axe > [noun] the world > food and drink > farming > tools and implements > [noun] > mattock, hoe, or hack > mattock c1619 S. Atkinson (1825) 1 To digg the next ground under that sodd..with a mattocke, picke, or towbill. 1714 No. 5228/4 Henry Bray..did give..Edward Hurly..a mortal Wound on the Head with a Two-Bill. 1808 C. Vancouver v. 127 The grubbing of roots is generally performed with the two-bill, or double-bitted mattock. 1888 F. T. Elworthy Two-bill, a double-ended mattock. Sometimes both ends are alike. society > trade and finance > monetary value > [adjective] > specific values the mind > attention and judgement > importance > unimportance > [adjective] > paltry, mean, or contemptible 1802 J. Drayton 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 May 799 Thompson's Two-bit House, Front St. 1928 S. Lewis i. 51 There's a man..always got a good story and a two-bit cigar for you. 1932 E. Caldwell xvii. 208 Tom said she used to be a two-bit slut. 1978 T. Willis viii. 155 Some other two-bit General will try shooting us up. the world > plants > particular plants > cultivated or valued plants > particular cultivated or ornamental plants > particular flower or plant esteemed for flower > [noun] > orchids 1605 T. Tymme tr. J. Du Chesne iii. 177 Take of the rootes of angelica,..of bifolium or two-blades. 1728 R. Bradley Ophris, sive Bifolium,..Twy~blade and Twablade. 1828 W. Carr (ed. 2) Twa-blade, a plant with two leaves. Ophrys ovata. 1841 R. H. Dana 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. the world > matter > physics > atomic physics > particle physics > [adjective] > relating to number of particles the world > matter > physics > mechanics > force > [adjective] > attractive > involving two objects or particles 1956 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 J. M. Pasachoff & M. L. Kutner 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. the world > food and drink > drink > thirst > excess in drinking > [adjective] 1855 W. M. Thackeray II. xxi. 203 This two-bottle Mentor. 1876 L. Stephen 2nd Ser. iv. 163 The two-bottle men who lingered till our day were..relics of the type which then gave the tone to society. 1884 B. Nye 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’ 13 ‘That how she makes a living?’ ‘Yes—little two-by-four bakery.’ 1916 ‘B. M. Bower’ v. 77 Houses..bald behind as board fences save where two-by-fours braced them from falling. 1926 June 15 Stiff and unyielding as a two-by-four. 1939 J. B. Priestley i. 3 A little two-by-four provincial agency..giving itself airs now! 1978 2 7 You hit him over his ossified skull with a two-by-four. 1979 J. van de Wetering xix. 226 De Gier saw a tableau made out of barn boards, framed neatly by weathered two-by-fours. society > trade and finance > monetary value > [adjective] > specific values the mind > attention and judgement > importance > unimportance > [adjective] > paltry, mean, or contemptible 1859 L. A. Wilmer 42 The Express was a two-cent cash paper. 1899 ‘J. Flynt’ 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 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 G. S. Wasson x. 317 I rec'lect well hearing of her call it nothing only a dead-and-alive little two-cent gunk-hole of a place. the mind > emotion > pleasure > joy, gladness, or delight > rejoicing or exultation > [noun] > jubilation or loud rejoicing > cheering or shouting hurrah > a cheer or shout > two cheers (qualified enthusiasm) 1951 E. M. Forster (title) Two cheers for democracy. 1977 5 Sept. 6/7 Two cheers for..the National Theatre's debut in community drama. society > authority > rule or government > politics > international politics or relations > [adjective] > specific policies 1962 E. Snow (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 xviii. 719 This was close to the two-China solution always vehemently rejected by both Taipei and Peking. the world > physical sensation > hearing and noise > thing heard > [noun] > sound > assemblage or body of > compound 1894 J. E. Creighton & E. B. Titchener tr. W. M. Wundt v. §2. 69 Similar simple periods are found to recur in the other harmonious two-clangs [Ger. Zweiklängen]. society > occupation and work > industry > decorating and painting > [adjective] > requiring specific number of coats of paint society > occupation and work > industry > building or constructing > surfacing or cladding > [adjective] > plastering > requiring specific number of coats 1833 J. C. Loudon §936 All the ceilings..are to be finished with fine two-coat plasterwork. 1847 A. C. Smeaton (new ed.) 127 Lath, laid and set,..in plastering, signifying two~coat work. society > occupation and work > equipment > machine > machines which impart power > engine > internal-combustion engine > [adjective] > cycle 1903 273 He suggests the two-cycle engine without valves as the most economical motor. society > occupation and work > equipment > tool > parts of tools generally > [adjective] > handle or stock > provided with > with two 1520 (Canterbury Cathedral Archives: CCA-U13/4) A ij ered basket. 1685 No. 2068/4 One Tea Pot, one Silver Tankard wrought, one two Ear'd Pot. 1704 No. 3984/4 A..Two-ear'd Cup. the world > life > biology > biological processes > procreation or reproduction > reproductive substances or cells > [adjective] > zygote or syngamete > monozygosity, etc. 1959 29 Oct. 728/2 Two-egg twins..are derived from the separate eggs fertilized by two different sperms. 1971 L. M. Hellman & J. A. Pritchard (ed. 14) xxv. 657 Some marriages appear to have an inordinately high frequency of multiple births. Greulich reported the case of a 35-year-old mother who in nine births delivered six pairs of two-egg twins and three single children. the world > space > relative position > end or extremity > [adjective] > having two ends 1863 J. Tyndall (1870) xv. §755. 522 The polarity of a magnet consists in its two-endedness. the world > physical sensation > sight and vision > optical instruments > instrument for distant vision > [adjective] > binocular the world > life > the body > external parts of body > head > face > eye > [adjective] > having > specific number 1864 19 Nov. 642/1 ‘A Two-eyed Steak’,..a Yarmouth bloater. 1876 B. Stewart & P. G. Tait 21 Another class who regard a two-eyed man as a monster. 1892 W. W. Greener 92 The sportsman may..dispense with shooting correctors, two-eyed sights, et id genus omne. society > leisure > sport > types of sport or game > ball game > cricket > batting > [noun] > positions 1924 A. C. Maclaren 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 3 July 28/2 Hughie Trumble..condemned the two-eyed batting stance. the world > food and drink > farming > cultivation or tillage > cultivation of plants or crops > [adjective] > other systems of growing crops 1907 M. C. F. Morris 250 The two-field or three-field shift system. the world > people > ethnicities > Indian of Central or South America > [noun] > Indians of South America 1796 J. G. Stedman II. xxvi. 255 The Accorees, or Two-fingers, live amongst the Seramaca negroes. society > communication > indication > gesturing or gesture > derisive gesture > [noun] the mind > attention and judgement > contempt > [noun] > action of expressing contempt > by gesture > specific gesture 1971 G. Ewart 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 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. the world > action or operation > manner of action > vigour or energy > [adjective] the world > action or operation > ability > inability > unskilfulness > [adjective] > clumsy or awkward > clumsy with the hands society > leisure > sport > types of sport or game > ball game > racket games > lawn tennis > [adjective] > types of stroke or ball 1774 P. V. Fithian (1900) 223 He was Director, and appointed a sturdy two-fisted Gentleman to open the Ball with Mrs. Tayloe. 1859 ‘G. Eliot’ I. i. vi. 135 As poor a two-fisted thing as ever I saw, you know you was. 1878 H. B. Stowe vi. 63 A stout two-fisted farmer. 1908 S. E. White xxii. 197 I don't bet those Saginaw river-pigs are any more two-fisted than the boys on this river. I'd go up and clean 'em out. 1925 E. E. Cummings 3 Sept. (1969) 108 [I] was not made to match wits with twofisted go~getters. 1960 16 June 18/6 The two-fisted back~hand of Australia's Howe. 1960 16 Sept. 52 Hamdinger..being, as the menu says, ‘for two-fisted appetites’. 1978 4 July 19/4 Miss Kruger, a steady and tenacious competitor with a two-fisted backhand. 1979 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. society > morality > moral evil > wickedness > roguery, knavery, or rascalry > [noun] > rogue, knave, or rascal 1837 C. Dickens xxvii. 281 I am ashamed o' you, old two-for-his-heels. the world > movement > rate of motion > swiftness > [adjective] 1855 M. M. Thompson ii. 20 I had introduced..a team of ‘two-forty’ reindeers. 1889 J. S. Farmer 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 26 Mar. 450/3 Now, get a two forty move on you, nags! 1848 E. F. Rimbault 95 Where does the Accent fall in Two-four Time? the world > food and drink > farming > tools and implements > ploughing equipment > [adjective] > type of plough 1805 R. W. Dickson I. 8 The double or two-furrow plough. the world > relative properties > number > specific numbers > two > pair > [noun] 1901 C. R. Squire in July–Oct. 535 The two-group is psychologically simpler than the three-group. the world > relative properties > number > specific numbers > two > pair > [noun] 1901 C. R. Squire in July–Oct. 536 The natural tendency to a two-grouping. the mind > mental capacity > knowledge > conformity with what is known, truth > deceit, deception, trickery > evasive deception, shiftiness > [adjective] > double-dealing a1656 A. Gray Serm. in (1698) 79 Many of us would be found two hearted men. the mind > mental capacity > knowledge > conformity with what is known, truth > deceit, deception, trickery > evasive deception, shiftiness > [noun] > double-dealing, duplicity 1594 T. Bowes tr. P. de la Primaudaye II. To Rdr. sig. a6v Men of two harts, or of a double heart. 1649 N. Ward 6 Unlesse we have two faces, two tongues, two understandings, two judgements, two consciences, two hearts, two pair of hands, two pair of leggs, two purses, which every honest man hath not, we cannot see how it may be done. 1763 tr. A. Le Page du Pratz II. i. viii. 74 Have the French two hearts? society > armed hostility > military equipment > weapon > sharp weapon > side arms > sword > [adjective] > having specific number of edges a1610 J. Healey tr. Theophrastus (1636) 88 His two-heel'd sword. society > occupation and work > equipment > metalworking equipment > [adjective] > types of rolling equipment 1875 E. H. Knight at Rolling-mill Train Two-high grooved rolls. the world > physical sensation > cleanness and dirtiness > sanitation > privy or latrine > [noun] > for two persons 1971 3 Jan. 12/2 Gone were the woodshed and the two-holer discreetly removed from the house. 1974 S. Alsop 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. the world > food and drink > farming > animal husbandry > general equipment > [adjective] > drawn by team society > travel > means of travel > a conveyance > vehicle > cart, carriage, or wagon > [adjective] > drawn by horse > by specific number or arrangement of society > society and the community > dissent > competition or rivalry > [adjective] > types of competition society > leisure > sport > types of sport or game > racing or race > [adjective] > types of race 1798 R. Douglas 50 The plough is drawn by a strong stretcher, commonly called a two-horse-tree. 1799 J. Robertson 525 Two-horse ploughs. 1812 J. Sinclair i. 58 A two-horse cart. a1813 J. H. St. J. de Crèvecoeur (1995) 59 You have often admired our Two Horse Waggons. 1900 P. Kropotkin (1906) I. i. 4 Two-horse sledges. 1976 16 Dec. [Darts] With White Lion beating Wellington 7-2 it seems to be a two-horse race at the top. 1977 11 Jan. 14/1 [Association football] The two-horse race in Division B looks like continuing. 1984 22 Feb. 1/5 If, as is expected, he comes second in New Hampshire, it could turn into a two-horse race. 1928 M. C. Work 40 The partner with jumping strength..should bid three or four of the requested suit in which he is the longer; three being a one-jump and four a two-jump. the world > the earth > water > flow or flowing > current > [adjective] > flowing at specific speed 1889 W. Westgarth 124 A two-knot northerly current inshore. society > authority > rule or government > ruler or governor > deliberative, legislative, or administrative assembly > governing or legislative body of a nation or community > procedure of parliament or national assembly > [adjective] > subjected to whip > type of whip society > leisure > the arts > literature > poetry > part of poem > [adjective] > stanzaic > of specific number of lines 1770 P. Luckombe 30 He used two-line letters of a Gothic kind. 1770 P. Luckombe 135 Two Lines Great Primer. 1892 A. Oldfield iv. 44 Chapter Headings are usually set in a two-line titling. 1901 G. B. Shaw Admirable Bashville in (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 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 v. 110 One usually expects of couplets that the sense of the passage will fall into two-line chunks. 1976 H. Wilson 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 I. 121 ‘Roaming in Thought’ is a two-line poem, published in the 1881 Leaves of Grass. society > communication > printing > printed matter > printed character(s) > [adjective] > capital > large capital 1683 J. Moxon II. 223 He begins his Chapter..with a Two-lin'd Letter. 1770 P. Luckombe 279 Two Line Letters. That are cast to regular bodies are, in their ascending order, Two Line Brevier, Two Line Long Primer, Two Line Pica, [etc.]. 1960 G. A. Glaister 301/1 Paragon, the name for a former size of type, about 20-point. The name, used in Holland as long ago as 1563, may have been an allusion to the beauty of the face rather than the size of the shank bearing it. Also known as two-line long primer. the world > plants > part of plant > reproductive part(s) > flower or part containing reproductive organs > [adjective] > having or relating to parts > of or having a lip 1787 E. Darwin et al. tr. C. Linnaeus I. 4 Nectary..two-lip'd. 1808 19 75 G[enista] tinctoria... Cal[yx] two-lipped. 1853 A. Pratt II. 18 They have..square stems, opposite leaves and two-lipped blossoms. society > inhabiting and dwelling > inhabited place > a building > building of specific internal arrangement > [adjective] > number of storeys 1819 W. Scott Bride of Lammermoor x, in 3rd Ser. II. 244 Folk are far frae respecting me as they wad do if I lived in a twa-lofted sclated house. the world > food and drink > food > dairy produce > cheese > [adjective] > qualities of cheese the world > food and drink > food > meal > [adjective] > two meals per day 1741 W. Ellis May vii. 112 It is generally made with half skim, and half new; or what is more properly called Two-meal Cheese. 1784 J. Twamley 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 II. 1011 Where two milkings are blended, or two-meal cheese made. 1901 3 Sept. 7/4 The generality of the two-meal system in hot countries. the world > time > period > a month or calendar month > [adjective] > lasting or occurring every specific number of months 1811 95 The Monthly Settlement in the Infantry and the Two-Monthly Settlement in the Cavalry..have been duly made by the Captains. 1867 W. H. Smyth & E. Belcher Two-monthly book, a book kept by the captain's clerk, to be forwarded every two months, when possible. society > society and the community > social class > [noun] > nation divided in two by social inequality society > society and the community > social relations > party or faction > [noun] > side or cause > two irreconcilable 1711 J. Addison in No. 125 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 B. Disraeli 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 8 May 10/3 Rightly or wrongly, the Protestants of Ulster hold to the ‘two nations’ theory. 1958 O. Caroe 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 Oct. 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. society > travel > travel by water > vessel, ship, or boat > vessels propelled by oars or poles > [noun] > rowing boat > for specific number of rowers 1857 Mrq. Dalhousie in (1895) 208 Lots of eighteen-penny two-oars. 1928 M. C. Work 11 From a partial score of 35 it takes four-odd of a Minor or three-odd of a Major to go game; from a score of 40 it would take only three-odd and two-odd respectively. 1929 M. C. Work iv. 43 Declarer would be apt to make just two-odd: two Spades, two Hearts, three Diamonds and one Club. society > education > educational administration > examination > [noun] > marks > specific marks 1937 ‘M. Innes’ i. ii. 34 Gott with his tutor's instinct was placing this young lady's mind provisionally among the good Two-ones. 1963 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 £1,250 a year. 1964 23 Oct. 14/2 It is argued..that examiners who can award ‘two ones’ are less ready to give firsts. 1969 M. Kelly 17 He was..a two-one graduate. 1976 6 Sept. 10/5 For quite a number of years, New Hall got more firsts and 2/1s combined than any other college. 1984 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. society > inhabiting and dwelling > inhabited place > a building > parts of building > [adjective] > floor or storey 1749 H. Fielding V. xiv. iv. 140 Nightingale should procure him either the Ground Floor, or the two Pair of Stairs. View more context for this quotation 1755 J. Kidgell II. 179 The very two-pair-of-stairs Apartment. 1836 C. Dickens 1st Ser. I. 3 I rents a two-pair back, gentlemen. 1840 W. M. Thackeray vii There was a light in the garret, and another in the two-pair front. 1841 W. M. Thackeray ii We occupied a very genteel two-pair. the world > textiles and clothing > clothing > types or styles of clothing > set or suit of clothes > [noun] > comprising two or three pieces the world > textiles and clothing > clothing > types or styles of clothing > set or suit of clothes > [adjective] > comprising two or three pieces the world > textiles and clothing > clothing > types or styles of clothing > set or suit of clothes > [adjective] > other c1880 in (1961) 11 A very neat little two-piece suit of calico. 1895 Spring & Summer 501/2 Bathing Suits... Two-piece suits. Consisting of quarter sleeve shirts and knee pants. 1910 ‘O. Henry’ (1915) 114 A rather well-fitting two-piece gray suit. 1930 1 Dec. 15/7 Two-piece in diagonal cloth. 1933 W. H. Auden 8 Revealing handsome two-piece bathing suits. 1956 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. 1963 1 June 110 Soak up the sun in our beautifully brief, terry two-piecer. 1978 L. Deighton iii. 29 She was dressed in a tailored two-piece of pink wool. 1978 5 Mar. (Spring Fashion Suppl.) 17 (advt.) The Pierrot collared two-piecer has a gently shirred skirt, with side pockets. society > travel > air or space travel > a means of conveyance through the air > aeroplane > [adjective] > with seats for two people 1916 B. Hall Diary 21 July in B. Hall & J. J. Niles (1929) 159 He was flying a two-place fighter. 1971 Apr. 35/2 The jet works the same as a two-place trainer. society > travel > air or space travel > a means of conveyance through the air > aeroplane > [noun] > with seats for specific number of people 1916 B. Hall Diary 23 Sept. in B. Hall & J. J. Niles (1929) 190 It wasn't long until Luf spied a two-placer. the world > space > relative position > intertwining or interweaving > [noun] > plaiting > that which is plaited 1882 S. H. Vines tr. J. von Sachs (ed. 2) 466 Divisions take place in the epidermal cells by..which the wall becomes two-layered. 1922 C. Close in No. 5. 6 (heading) Two-point equidistant projection. 1969 G. C. Dickinson i. 9 Distances..can be shown correctly from one, or two, but no more, chosen points on certain special projections. [Note] The zenithal equidistant and the two-point equidistant projections respectively. society > armed hostility > hostilities at sea > [noun] > naval power > standard formula of 1901 26 Sept. 280 In men and ships..the British Navy is distinctly above the ‘two-Power standard’. 1910 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 Last Play iii, in 223 Your honest and sensible statesmen demand for England a two-power standard. society > communication > printing > printing machine or press > [adjective] > type of cylinder press 1980 B. Crutchley ii. 21 ‘And what do you know about printing?’ I was about to reply..: ‘Well, I can tell the difference between a two-rev and stop-cylinder,’ (those were basic types of printing machine). society > communication > printing > printing machine or press > [adjective] > type of cylinder press 1902 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 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. society > leisure > the arts > music > musical sound > duration of notes > proportion of notes or rhythm > [noun] > specific rhythms 1901 C. R. Squire in 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.]. society > leisure > entertainment > pastimes > game > children's game > other children's games > [noun] > others 1896 E. Turner xxiii. 279 The frantic rushes of the game of ‘twos and threes’. 1935 N. Mitchison iii. 236 After dinner there were games with the crew... They had fox-and-geese and twos-and-threes. 1983 G. Mitchell ii. 14 Some traditional party games were played... A game of Twos and Threes was in progress. the world > the earth > land > land mass > shore or bank > promontory, headland, or cape > [adjective] > isthmus 1626 G. Sandys tr. Ovid vi. 118 With all that two-sead Isthmos Streights include. society > travel > means of travel > a conveyance > vehicle > [noun] > with specific number of seats society > travel > air or space travel > a means of conveyance through the air > aeroplane > [noun] > with seats for specific number of people society > inhabiting and dwelling > inhabited place > a building > furniture and fittings > seat > sofa or couch > [noun] > for two persons 1891 H. C. Bunner 172 I climbed into his ‘two-seater’, and sat behind talking to Mrs. Tom. 1906 15 Nov. 3/6 Two-cylinder, two-seater car. 1918 T. E. Lawrence (1938) 248 Our Bristol Fighter the same day brought down a German two-seater in flames. 1931 31 Jan. 7/4 The two-seater airplane which crashed in Bushy Park. 1973 R. Ludlum xviii. 150 He sat in the Early American two-seater in the outer office. 1977 P. Hill 145 The helicopter..was a two-seater. 1979 R. Jaffe (1980) iii. i. 305 Emily..drove to her analyst..in the little two-seater Mercedes. the world > animals > mammals > group Ungulata (hoofed) > group Ruminantia (sheep, goats, cows, etc.) > genus Ovus > [noun] > Ovus Aries (domestic sheep) > defined by age > two years old the world > animals > mammals > group Ungulata (hoofed) > group Ruminantia (sheep, goats, cows, etc.) > genus Ovus > [adjective] > of parts of > having a fleece > shorn 1788 W. Marshall II. 260 The wedders will fat at two-sheer (that is, two to three years old) to thirty pounds a quarter. 1831 J. Morton Gloucestershire Hill-farm 16 in The two-shear, or four-teeth ewes. 1898 5 Feb. 181 [The lamb] attained to the dignity of a two-shear. 1765 i. iii. 21 The Pleasure she took in her two Shoes..by that Means [she] obtained the Name of Goody Two-Shoes. 1858 ‘G. Eliot’ I. 166 Little Bessie Parrot, a flaxen-headed ‘two-shoes’, very white and fat as to her neck. 1870 R. W. Emerson 95 What a holiday is the first snow in which Twoshoes can be trusted abroad! society > communication > broadcasting > television > production of television broadcast > [noun] > shot > types of shot society > leisure > the arts > performance arts > cinematography > filming > shot > [noun] > types of 1949 N. Streatfeild xxi. 228 Movies are made with a long shot, a two-shot and a close~up of each person, each taken separately. 1978 27 Mar. 8/3 Two grey-suited figures, held in two-shot, recapped results interminably. the mind > attention and judgement > importance > unimportance > [noun] > one who is unimportant > worthless society > authority > punishment > imprisonment > [noun] > sentence or term of > specific term of (year(s)) society > trade and finance > money > medium of exchange or currency > paper money > foreign banknotes > [noun] > U.S. > two-dollar bill society > leisure > entertainment > pastimes > game > card game > card or cards > [noun] > number card > others 1885 III. 213 We were shown a play-card, the two-spot of clubs. 1896 G. Ade vi. 50 You're nothin' but a two-spot. 1901 ‘J. Flynt’ 184 They convicted me at last and I got a two-spot. 1909 ‘O. Henry’ xviii. 305 We get the heelers out with the crackly two-spots. 1936 H. Hagedorn v. 73 He knew..when to be discreet and when to bluff on a two-spot. the mind > goodness and badness > inferiority or baseness > [adjective] society > armed hostility > warrior > soldier > leader or commander > officer or soldier of rank > [adjective] > high-ranking 1951 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 7 Apr. 403/1 The unknown two-star general..accumulated power for himself in the name of France. 1976 30 Sept. 11/3 The Galant..will do over 35 miles to the gallon on two-star petrol. 1982 ‘E. Lathen’ ii. 16 Two-star generals are less accustomed to being balked than most men. the world > relative properties > number > specific numbers > two > duality > [adjective] > capable of existing in two states, etc. 1959 G. Troup iii. 35 The two-state molecules under consideration. 1971 J. H. Smith 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 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 27 Jan. 7/4 The most popular steps are the two-step, waltz, schottische, three-step, and glide waltz. 1910 30 Mar. 223/2 But when the maid my signal sees She ‘two-steps’ by like winking. 1916 H. G. Wells ii. ii. § 11 Always before, Christmas had been a time of much gaiety and dressing up and prancing and two-stepping at the Dower House. 1929 S. Lewis i. 1 The aristocracy of Zenith were dancing... They two-stepped on the wide porch. 1940 874/1 Two-step relay. 1948 A. C. Clarke (1959) 13 The A. 20 was a two-step rocket. 1978 Feb. 13 The two-step mechanism of translocation of estradiol finds a precise counterpart in the action of other steroid hormones. society > travel > travel by water > vessel, ship, or boat > vessel propelled by sail > [noun] > vessel with specific number of masts 1884 Aug. 505/2 Of modern racing schooners..the fastest two-sticker ever designed. 1895 Apr. 448/2 The gashers [were] dashing in and out among the punts and jacks (stoutly built two-stickers larger than gashers). 1931 2 391/1 Our ‘two-sticker with a kicker’ lies in Sandy Bay harbour, Nova Scotia. 1868 1 10 Leading from single cards, leading from Ace and another, leading from a two-suit. society > travel > aspects of travel > a journey > [noun] > luggage > travelling bag > hand-held society > leisure > entertainment > pastimes > game > card game > bridge > [noun] > types of hand 1923 M. C. Work vi. 60 A hand containing two suits both strong enough to bid is called a ‘two-suiter’. 1958 Winter 25/1 The boot accommodated one two-suiter and one week end case, or three week-end cases. 1979 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 xxvii. 223 Stuart lifted a Samsonite two-suiter onto the bed. the world > relative properties > number > probability or statistics > [adjective] > of tests the world > animals > animal body > general parts > rump and tail > [adjective] > relating to the tail > having a tail > having two tails 1904 16 Mar. 275/2 When imported Labour Yellow should eliminate the Fellow, And the Head of every College be a two-tailed Mandarin! 1922 J. Joyce ii. xv. [Circe] 473 His twotailed black braces dangling at heels. 1931 1 Oct. 747/2 They [sc. Norman clerks] used a two-tailed capital F. 1945 1 70 If querist has other alternatives to be considered, he may be interested in the two-tailed test discussed in following answers. 1976 30 Oct. 922/1 Data were analysed by Student's two-tailed t test. the world > animals > mammals > group Ungulata (hoofed) > group Ruminantia (sheep, goats, cows, etc.) > genus Ovus > [adjective] > of specific age the world > animals > mammals > group Ungulata (hoofed) > group Ruminantia (sheep, goats, cows, etc.) > genus Ovus > [noun] > Ovus Aries (domestic sheep) > defined by age > one year old or sheared once 1776 13 July 22 It [the goggles] generally..attacks the younger sheep, more particularly the two tooths. 1778 I. 42 The sheep most subject to it [the disease goggles] are two teeth. 1831 J. Morton Gloucestershire Hill-farm 16 in The young or two-teeth ewes. 1945 N. Marsh viii. 180 A couple more dirty two-tooths for the herd to shear. 1962 26 Kangaroos, goannas and two-tooth ewes constitute the characteristic fauna of Coorabin. 1972 P. Newton iii. 26 As two-tooths they all go out to Cow Creek with the ewes. 1980 D. Hart-Davis xviii. 212 ‘What the hell's a two-tooth ewe?’ ‘A hogget—a second-year ewe. The best mutton there is.’ society > occupation and work > equipment > machine > parts of machines > other parts > [adjective] > converter > types of crank 1875 E. H. Knight Two-throw Crank. the world > matter > colour > variegation > [adjective] > two colours society > leisure > the arts > music > musical sound > [adjective] > one- or two-tone 1906 G. F. Goodchild & C. F. Tweney 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 xviii. 115 A couple of very nice two-tone Buicks. 1963 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 x. 167 The sad two-tone cadence of the mopoke or Australian owl. 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 Sept. 51/2 The usual luxury touches like electric windows, two-tone horns. 1981 22 Jan. 226/3 Deep burgundy bouclé jacket.. two-tone belt. the world > matter > colour > variegation > [adjective] > two colours society > leisure > the arts > music > musical sound > [adjective] > one- or two-tone 1897 No. 104. 238/1 Striped Undershirts... Neat two toned shades, silver gray predominating. 1951 T. Sterling v. 47 A two-toned gong rang... He opened the door. 1982 R. Ludlum xviii. 271 He climbed out of the two-toned coupé. the mind > mental capacity > knowledge > conformity with what is known, truth > deceit, deception, trickery > evasive deception, shiftiness > [adjective] > double-dealing > in speech 1393 W. Langland C. xxiii. 162 Here syre was a sysour þat neuere swor treuthe, On tomme two~tounged. 1636 G. Sandys xxvi. 35 I hate the two-tongu'd Hypocrite. 1815 J. Malcolm (1828) II. 156 ‘The fiery steed of the two-tongued pen’ [a split reed] is allowed to run wild. society > education > educational administration > examination > [noun] > marks > specific marks society > armed hostility > military equipment > weapon > device for discharging missiles > firearm > small-arm > [noun] > rifle > types of society > armed hostility > military equipment > weapon > missile > ammunition for firearms > [noun] > bullet or shell > bullet > types of bullet 1895 921 The Remington single shot rifle. Shooting the ·22 rim fire American Cartridge. 1944 ‘N. Shute’ i. 11 A little gun, his own. Two-two. 1973 ‘M. Hebden’ xvi. 134 ‘What sort was it? Shotgun?’ ‘No. Two-two.’ 1976 J. H. Spencer 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 v. 90 I..at least got a II:ii..; in those days the only respectable thing was either a First or a Third. the world > food and drink > drink > intoxicating liquor > types or qualities of intoxicating liquor > [adjective] > weak or diluted 1905 25 May 4/7 Rum and water came to be called ‘grog’ likewise, being ‘two-water’ or ‘three-water’ grog, according to the proportions of the mixture. the world > time > period > a week > [noun] > specific number of weeks 1900 H. Sutcliffe 119 It's a two-week come yesterday sin' they fought i' th' kirk-yard. the world > life > source or principle of life > age > [adjective] > specific age the world > time > period > year > [adjective] > lasting for several years > that lasts a specific number of years > that has lasted a specific number of years 1596–7 in W. Greenwell (1860) II. 268 iiij two-yere cattell. 1927 A. H. McNeile v. 141 St. Paul returned [to Ephesus] for his two-year visit. 1962 E. Snow (1963) i. 19 There were six of them..on their way to serve two-year contracts as technical advisers in China. 1975 802 Institutions of higher education include universities, colleges, professional schools, and two-year colleges. society > travel > travel by water > [noun] > a voyage > lasting specific length of time society > education > learning > learner > one attending school > [noun] > pupil at specific school > types of pupil at Harrow 1894 A. Conan Doyle 81 I'm just off a two-yearer in an eight-knot tramp. 1899 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. the world > animals > family unit > [adjective] > young > two years old 1600 in W. F. Shaw (1876) 226 Item vij kine iij towyearing beasts and four twelve monthings. the world > animals > family unit > [noun] > young animal > two-year old the world > animals > family unit > [adjective] > young > two years old 1577 B. Googe tr. C. Heresbach i. f. 43v My young breede, Yeerelinges, and Twoyeerelinges. 1884 25 Sept. 2/4 10 good two-yearling wellbred Steers. Draft additions June 20151973 K. Mitchell in 2 No. 4. 28/1 Gallagher takes his car to pick up some two-fours of beer at the liquor store. 1991 D. Richler iii. 48 He..loaded up with a two-four of Molson. 2013 (Nexis) 6 Mar. l2 A single bottle will set you back as much as three two-fours of Coors Light. Draft additions July 20101997 May 82/2 Should have heads nodding in two-step clubland. 2001 4 Dec. 103/1 There will be four rooms (as is standard at raves these days), featuring hip-hop, house/techno, drum'n'bass and 2step. 2009 Jan. 14/1 As someone who has seen drum 'n' bass, two-step Garage and Grime all wax and wane over the years, the last thing he's likely to do is pledge his allegiance for the latest rave-influenced fad. Draft additions June 20151991 June 1/3 The first..speakers were two white women..who made a statement on behalf of Janet Spotted Eagle and Two Spirited Thunder People, a group of Native American lesbians. 1992 (Electronic ed.) 7 Feb. 1 e In the old days, two-spirited people were very powerful within the tribes, looked on as healers and caretakers of orphans. 2001 I. S. Vernon 27 San Francisco..has bar establishments that cater to specific populations, including two-spirit men. 2010 25 Nov. d5/2 A two-spirited First Nations man and a cross-dressing cowgal mix it up. This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1916; most recently modified version published online December 2020). <  adj.n.adv.c882 |
/twɔː/ in place of twae, twea, etc., is abnormal, but has parallels in wha who pron., and na no adv.21721 A. Ramsay Lucky Spence xiii I.. whistl'd ben whiles ane, whiles twa.1808 J. Mayne Siller Gun (new ed.) i. 22 His Craft, the Blacksmiths, first ava, Led the Procession, twa and twa.1828 W. Carr Dial. Craven (ed. 2) Twaa, two.1829 W. Scott Guy Mannering (new ed.) I. xxii. 221 I have six terriers at hame, forbye twa couple of slow-hunds.