Etymology : Middle English twiges, twies, from Old English twiga; akin to Old English twi-
Pronunciation : twIs
Function : adverb
Date : 12th century
1. adtwo times, doubly. twice\twice\ , adv. [oe. twies (where the s is the adverbial ending; see:
-wards), twie, as. twiges, twiwa; akin to twi- (in comp.) two, g. zwie-, ohg. zwi-, icel. tvī-, l. bi-, gr. , skr. dvi-, and e. two. see:
two.].
2. two times; once and again. he twice essayed to cast his son in gold.
3. doubly; in twofold quantity or degree; as, twice the sum; he is twice as fortunate as his neighbor.note: twice is used in the formation of compounds, mostly self-explaining; as, twice-horn, twice-conquered, twice-planted, twice-told, and the like.twice adv.
4. two times; "i called her twice".
5. to double the degree; "she was doubly rewarded"; "his eyes were double bright" [syn: doubly, double].
6. Two times; once and again.
7. Doubly; in twofold quantity or degree; as, twice the sum; he is twice as fortunate as his neighbor. two times; "I called her twice".
8. 1. If something happens twice, there are two actions or events of the same kind. He visited me twice that fall and called me on the telephone often Thoroughly brush teeth and gums twice daily.
9. You use twice in expressions such as twice a day and twice a week to indicate that two events or actions of the same kind happen in each day or week. I phoned twice a day, leaving messages with his wife.
10. If one thing is, for example, twice as big or old as another, the first thing is two times as big or old as the second. People sometimes say that one thing is twice as good or hard as another when they want to emphasize that the first thing is much better or harder than the second. The figure of seventy-million pounds was twice as big as expected. Twice is also a predeterminer. Unemployment in Northern Ireland is twice the national average.
11. If you think twice about doing something, you consider it again and decide not to do it, or decide to do it differently. She'd better shut her mouth and from now on think twice before saying stupid things.
12. once or twice: see:
once twice over: see over.