Twain Is an Old Word for Two
Twain means two. It survives in a Kipling line and in the pen name of a famous American writer.
Twain is an archaic word meaning two. It survives in two famous places. *Never the twain shall meet* comes from Kipling's 1889 *Ballad of East and West*, and Samuel Clemens took *Mark Twain* as a pen name from a riverboat call: *mark twain* meant the sounding line showed two fathoms, or twelve feet, just enough depth to pass safely. Old English had two forms of the number, *twegen* for masculine nouns and *twa* otherwise; *twain* is the survivor of the first.
- Two (archaic). *The twain.*
- Never the twain shall meet. *Kipling's line.*
- Mark Twain — a river call. *Mark Twain.*
- Fathom — six feet. *Two fathoms.*
- Old English — *twegen*. *The source.*
Word forms
| Form | Word | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Numeral | twain | The twain. |
| Modern | two | Two. |
| Old English | twegen | Two. |
| Related | twin | A twin. |
| Related | between | Between. |
- Never the twain shall meet.Kipling.
- Mark twain means two fathoms.River.
- Twegen was the masculine form.Grammar.
The two family
- Twain — the old masculine form of two
- Twin — one of a pair
- Between — by the two
- Twice — two times
- Twilight — possibly half light, from the same root
Old English *twegen*, the masculine form of *twa*, two.
Where does Mark Twain come from?
From a riverboat leadsman's call. Mark twain meant the sounding line showed two fathoms, twelve feet, safe depth for a steamboat.
Who wrote never the twain shall meet?
Rudyard Kipling, in the Ballad of East and West of 1889. The surrounding lines actually argue the opposite of how the phrase is usually quoted.