two

From English two.

• IPA^(key): [ˈtu][1]

two

1. (international standards) NATO & ICAO phonetic alphabet code for the digit 2.

   Synonym: bissotwo (ITU/IMO)

• twa
• twey (archaic)

From Middle English two, twa, from Old English twā, neuter of twēġen (whence twain), from Proto-West Germanic *twai-, from Proto-Germanic *twai, from Proto-Indo-European *dwóh₁.

Cognate with Scots twa (“two”); North Frisian tou, tuu (“two”); Saterland Frisian twäin, two (“two”); West Frisian twa (“two”); Dutch twee (“two”); Low German twee, twei (“two”); German zwei, zwo (“two”); Danish and Norwegian to (“two”); Swedish två, tu (“two”); Icelandic tvö (“two”); Latin duō (“two”); Ancient Greek δύο (dúo, “two”); Irish dhá (“two”); Lithuanian dù (“two”); Russian два (dva, “two”); Albanian dy (“two”); Old Armenian երկու (erku, “two”); Sanskrit द्व (dvá, “two”); Tocharian A wu, Tocharian B wi. Doublet of duo. See also twain.

• (UK) IPA^(key): /tuː/, [tʰu̟ː], enPR: to͞o

  • Audio (UK)

    (file)

• (US) IPA^(key): /tu/, [tʰu̟], enPR: to͞o

  • Audio (US)

    (file)

• (obsolete) IPA^(key): /twuː/, enPR: two͞o
• Rhymes: -uː
• Homophones: to, too

two

1. A numerical value equal to 2; this many dots (••).
   • 1912 January, Zane Grey, chapter 8, in Riders of the Purple Sage […], New York, N.Y.; London: Harper & Brothers Publishers, OCLC 6868219:

     Venters began to count them—one—two—three—four—on up to sixteen.

2. Describing a set or group with two elements.
   • 1927, F. E. Penny, chapter 5, in Pulling the Strings:

     “ […] The two murders might have been done by one of the ryots who was dissatisfied over his assessment and thought he had a grievance. […].”

• Table of cardinal numbers 0 to 9 in various languages

two (plural twos)

1. The digit/figure 2.

   The number 2202 contains three twos.

2. (US, informal) A two-dollar bill.
3. A child aged two.

   This toy is suitable for the twos and threes.

4. A playing card featuring two pips.
5. Two o'clock, either a.m. or p.m.
   • 1925 July – 1926 May, A[rthur] Conan Doyle, “(please specify the chapter number)”, in The Land of Mist (eBook no. 0601351h.html), Australia: Project Gutenberg Australia, published April 2019:

     It was a weary time. A carriage clock had been placed on the discoloured wooden mantelpiece, and slowly its hands crept on from one to two and from two to three.

• two-up
• two's complement

• OTW, TOW, Tow, WTO, owt, tow, wot

• twa (Early ME, Northern ME)
• tuo

From Old English twā, feminine of twēġen.

• IPA^(key): /twɔː/, /twoː/
• (Northern ME) IPA^(key): /twɑː/

two

1. two
   • p. 1154, “AD 1137”, in Anglo-Saxon Chronicle (MS. Laud Misc. 636, continuation), Peterborough, folio 89, verso; republished at Oxford: Digital Bodleian, 8 February 2018:

     Gif tƿa men oþer ·iii· coman ridend to an tun · al þe tunſcipe flugæn foꝛ heom. ƿenden ð hi ƿæron ræuereſ.

     If two or three men came riding into a town, the whole town ran away from them, concluding that they were robbers.

• English: two
• Scots: twa, twae

• “twō, num.”, in MED Online, Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan, 2007.

See the etymology of the corresponding lemma form.

• IPA^(key): /tvɔ/

two

1. feminine of twäin
2. neuter of twäin

• Marron C. Fort (2015), “two”, in Saterfriesisches Wörterbuch mit einer phonologischen und grammatischen Übersicht, Buske, →ISBN