English
twane
Twane comes from Middle English tweyne ‘two’, and goes back to Proto-Indo-European *dwóh₁.
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*dwóh₁1‘two’reconstructed
- Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*twai2‘two’reconstructed
- Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*twai-2‘two’reconstructed
- Old Englishc. 450–1150twēġen2‘two’
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500tweyne3‘two’
- Englishearliest quotation 1802twane3
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor
- 1 Wiktionary, Proto-Germanic *twai
- 2 Wiktionary, Middle English tweyne
- 3 Wiktionary, English twane
- Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1802, James Sibbald: “Divide in twane and furth diſfound all tyte.”.
Lineage
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*dwóh₁Wiktionary, Proto-Germanic *twai‘two’reconstructed
- Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*twaiWiktionary, Middle English tweyne‘two’reconstructed
- Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*twai-Wiktionary, Middle English tweyne‘two’reconstructed
- Old Englishc. 450–1150twēġenWiktionary, Middle English tweyne‘two’
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500tweyneWiktionary, English twane‘two’
- Englishearliest quotation 1802twaneWiktionary, English twane. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1802, James Sibbald: “Divide in twane and furth diſfound all tyte.”
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *dwóh₁ ‘two’
doubt, vice, defeat, dual, duo, twin, binary, vicious, diplomacy, dubious, duet, bis, disparate, biceps, deuce, bes, twig, binocular, betwixt, 20 more
through Proto-Germanic *twai ‘two’
through Proto-West Germanic *twai- ‘two’
through Middle English tweyne ‘two’
Today it means
num twain
Sources
Sources: Wiktionary, “twane”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entries for Proto-Germanic *twai, Middle English tweyne. By Wiktionary contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0, via kaikki.org (dump of Oct 3 2026); text adapted and restructured. Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word. License.
Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *dwóh₁ / twane