Jl 
gesi 
Twelfth-day 
view is to do honour to the three wise men, or, as they are 
more generally denominated, the three kings. 
Chamliers's Boole of Days, I. 62. 
Twelfth-night (twelfth ' nit), n. The eve of 
the festival of the Epiphany. Many social rites 
and ceremonies have long been connected with Twelfth- 
night. See bean-feast. >, Twelfth-cake. Twelfth-night 
cards, a series of cards representing different characters 
to be assumed by the persons to whom the different cards 
fall, during the Twelfth-night celebration. The charac- 
ters indicated, usually those of king, queen, ministers, 
maids of honor, or ludicrous or grotesque personages, are 
hence known as Twelfth-night characters. 
ohn Britton, in his Autobiography, tells us he " slig- 
hted and wrote a series of Twelfth- Sight Characters, to 
be printed on cards, placed in a bag, and drawn out at 
parties on the memorable and merry evening. . . . They 
were sold in small packets to pastry-cooks." 
Chambers's Book of Days, I. 64. 
Twelfth-tide (twelfth'tid), n. The time or fes- 
tival of Twelfth-day. 
Come then, come then, and let us bring 
Unto our prettie Twelfth-Tide King 
Each one his severall offering. 
llerrick, Thi Star-song : a Caroll to the King. 
twell (twel), prep, and conj. A dialectal vari- 
ant of tilP. 
twelve (twelv), a. and n. [< ME. twelve, twelf, 
< AS. twelf, twelfe = OS. twelif = OFries. twelf, 
twelef, twilif = D. twaalf = MLG. twelf, twelef, 
twolf, LG. twolf, twolve = OHG. zwelif, MHG. 
zwelif, ewelf, G. zwolf = Icel. tolf = Sw. tolf = 
Dan. tolv = Goth, twalif, twelve ; < AS. twd, etc., 
two, + -lif, an element found also in eleven, 
q. v.] I. a. One more than eleven ; twice six, 
or three times four : a cardinal numeral Lady 
with twelve flounces. See lady. Twelve Men. Same 
as duzine. Twelve Tables. See table. 
II. n. 1. The number made up of ten and 
two ; a dozen. 2. A symbol representing this 
number, as 12, XII, or xii. 3. pi. Same as duo- 
decimo. 
The nation must then have consisted of young readers, 
when a diminutive volume in twelves was deemed to be 
overlong. /. D' Israeli, Amen, of Lit., I. 312. 
Broad twelves, a duodecimo leaf of extra width, of me- 
dium size, about 5 inches wide by 1\ inches long. Long 
twelves, an oblong sheet of paper, folded for eight pages 
in its greater length and in three pages for its shorter 
length. Of medium size, it is about 4 inches wide and 8 
inches long. Quorum of twelve. See quorum. Square 
twelves, an arrangement of duodecimo pages for a sheet 
nearly square, in which the folded sheet has six pages in 
width and four pages in length. The Twelve, the twelve 
apostles. See apostle, 1. 
And Judas Iscariot, one of the twelve, went unto the 
chief priests, to betray him linto them. Mark xiv. 10. 
Twelve-day writ. See writ. 
twelvemo (twelv'mo), n. and a. [An English 
reading of I2mo, which stands for Xllmo, i. e. 
L. (in) duodecimo : see duodecimo. Cf. sixteen- 
mo."] Same as duodecimo : commonly written 
12mo. 
twelvemonth (twelv'munth), n. [< ME. tmelf- 
moneth, < twelmond; (. twelve + month.'] A year, 
which consists of twelve calendar months. 
A twelmond & two wekes twynnet we noght. 
Destruction of Troy (E. E. T. 8.), 1. 13230. 
I sware a vow before them all, that I, 
Because I had not seen the Grail, would ride 
A twelvemonth and a day in quest of it. 
Tennyson, Holy Grail. 
twelvepence (twelv'pens), re. [Orig. two words, 
twelve pence."] A shilling. 
twelyepenny (twelv'pen'i), a. 1. Sold for or 
costing a shilling; worth a shilling. 
When, at a new play, you take up the twelve-penny 
room, next the stage. Dekker, Gull's Hornbook, Proem. 
2. Hence, of little value; cheap; trifling; in- 
significant. 
That men be not excommunicated for trifles and twelve- 
penny matters. 
Heylin, Hist. Presbyterians, p. 371. (Dames.) 
twelve-Spore (twelv'skor), a. and n. I. a. 
Numbering twelve times twenty, or two hun- 
dred and forty : as, twelve-score seamen. 
II. n. Twelve-score yards, a common length 
for a shot in archery, and hence often alluded 
to formerly in measurement. 
I'll procure this fat rogue a charge of foot ; and I know 
his death will be a march of twelve-score. 
Shalt., 1 Hen. IV., ii. <l. 598. 
Twelve-tidet, Same as Twelfth-tide. 
Seven night at the lest after twelve-tide last, on a cer- 
tame night he came downe into the parlor, fynding Alice 
Gedsale & Elizabeth Buppell folding clothes. 
Darrell Papers (H. Hall's Society in Elizabethan Age 
[App. ii.). 
twentieth (twen'ti-eth), a. and . [Early mod. 
E. also twentitli; < ME. twentifhe, twenteotlte, 
< AS. tweiitigotha, etc., twentieth; as twenty + 
-eth.~\ I. . 1. Next after the nineteenth : an 
ordinal numeral. 
6550 
The twentieth century will begin not, as supposed, in 
January, KtOO, but in January, 1901. 
N. and Q., 7th ser., XI. 04. 
2. Being one of twenty equal parts into which 
anything is divided. 
II. n. 1. The quotient of unity divided by 
twenty ; one of twenty equal parts of anything. 
2. In early Eng. law, a twentieth of the rents 
of the year, or of movables, or both, granted or 
levied by way of tax. 
twenty (twen'ti), a. and n. [< ME. twenty, 
twenti, twentlz, < AS. twentig, ticeittig. ONorth. 
twdentig, twcegeiitig = OS. twentiy = OFries. twin- 
tieh = D. twintig = LG. twintig = OHG. zwein- 
zug, MHG. zwenzic, zweinzec, G. zwanzig = Icel. 
tuttugu = Sw. tjugu = Dan. tyve = Goth, twai- 
tigjus, twenty; < AS. twegen, twd, etc., two, + 
-tig, etc. : see twain and -ty 1 ."] I. a. 1. One 
more than nineteen ; twice ten : a cardinal nu- 
meral. 2. Proverbially, an indefinite number : 
sometimes duplicated. 
As for Maximilian, upon twenty respects he could not 
have been the man. Bacon, Hist. Hen. VII., p. 350. 
I could satisfy myself about twenty and twenty things, 
that now and then I want to know. 
Richardson, Sir Charles Grandison, I. xlvii. 
II. n. ; pi. twenties (-tiz). 1. The number 
which is one more than nineteen ; twice ten ; a 
score. 2. A symbol representing this number, 
as 20, XX, or xx. 3. An old division of Eng- 
lish infantry (see thousand and hundred). The 
commander of a twenty was called vintiner. 
Twenty-first rule. See rule*. 
Twenty-five Articles. See article. 
twenty-fold (twen'ti -fold), a. [< twenty + 
-fold.~] Twenty times as many. 
twenty-four (twen'ti-for'), a. and . I. a. 
Four more than twenty: a cardinal numeral. 
Twenty-four hours, a day, as consisting of so many 
hours. 
Botanists may find it worth while to observe if it [the 
Martagon lily] smells offensively at any time during the 
twenty-four hours. N. and Q., 7th ser., XI. 193. 
II. n. 1. The number made up of four and 
twenty. 2. A symbol representing this num- 
ber, as 24, XXIV, or xxiv. 3. pi. In printing : 
(a) A form of composed type or plates con- 
taining twenty-four pages properly arranged 
for printing and folding in consecutive order. 
(6) A sheet of paper printed from a form ar- 
ranged as above described, (c) A book made 
up of sections of twenty-four pages. 
I have observed that the author of a folio . . . sets him- 
self above the author of a quarto ; the author of a quarto 
above the author of an octavo ; and so on, by a gradual de- 
scent and subordination, to an author in twenty-fours. 
Addison, Spectator, No. 529. 
twentyfqur-mo (twen'ti-for'mo), n. [An Eng- 
lish reading of 24mo, which stands for XXIVwo, 
i.e. L. (in) vicesimo quarto, 'in twentyfourth'; 
of. twelvemo, duodecimo, etc.] 1. A leaf from 
a sheet of paper regularly folded for a book in 
twenty-four equal parts. When the size of paper 
is not named, it is supposed to be a medium 24mo, of which 
the untrimmed leaf is about 3 by 5J inches. 
2. A book made up of leaves folded in twenty- 
four equal parts. 
Usually written 24mo. 
twentymo (twen'ti-mo), n. [Cf. twentyfour- 
mo.~\ A sheet regularly folded to make twenty 
leaves of uniform size. Written shortly 20/xo. 
C. T. Jacobi, Printers' Vocab. 
twenty-second (twen'ti-sek'ond), n. In music, 
a tone distant three octaves from a given tone, 
or the interval between two such tones; a 
triple octave. 
'twere (twer). A contraction of it were. 
You are so ridiculously unworthy that 'twere a Folly to 
reprove you with a serious Look. 
Etherege, She Would if She Could, iv. 2. 
tweyt, tweynt, tweyfoldt. See twain, twofold. 
twi-. [Also iwy-; <ME. twi-, < AS. iwi- = OFries. 
twi- = D. twee-= MLG. twi-, twe-, LG. t we- = OHG. 
MHG. zwi-, G. swie- = Icel. tvi, a combining form 
of AS. twd, etc., E. two: see two, and cf. 6- 2 , 
di-V.~] A prefix of Anglo-Saxon origin, a form 
of two in composition. It occurs in twibill, twi- 
blade, twifallow, twifold, twilight, etc. 
twibill (twi'bil), n. [Formerly also twibil, twy- 
bill, twybil, twyble; < ME. twibil, twyble, < AS. 
twibill, < twi-, two, + bill, a bill: see twi- and 
6iK 2 .] 1. A double-bladed battle-ax, especial- 
ly that carried by the Northern nations. Such 
battle-axes are often mentioned in literature, although but 
few heads of double axes have been found among thou- 
sands of other types. Compare Danish ax (under Danish), 
and -< ri . 
At Byzantium many a year ago 
My father bore the twibil valiantly. 
William Morris, Earthly Paradise, I. 5. 
twichild 
2. A broadsword: so called from a misunder- 
standing of the word. See the quotation. 
Where Ttcilnl hung, with basket hilt, 
Grown rusty now, but had been gilt. 
Cotton, Scarronides, iv. 
3. A kind of double ax; a kind of mattock the 
blade of which has one end shaped like an ax 
and the other like an adz. 
Yit toles moo 
The mattok, tiryble, picoys, forth to goo. 
Palladim, Husbondrie (E. E. T. S.), p. 42. 
She learn'd the churlish axe and twylrill to prepare, 
To steel the coulter's edge, and sharp the furrowing share. 
Drayton, Polyolbion, xviii. 77. 
4. A mortising-tool. 
A twyltill, which is a toole wherewith carpenters make 
mortaises. Nomenclator. (Sares.) 
5. A reaping-hook. Drayton. (Imp. Diet.) 
6f. Same as roaring boy (see roaring). 
Those lawless ruffians who, to the disgrace of the city, 
under the various names of Mohawks, . . . Twibills, . . . 
etc., infested the streets, . . . from the days of Elizabeth 
down to the beginning of the last century. 
Gifford, note in Ford's Sun's Darling, i. 1. 
twibilled (twi'bild), a. [< twibill + -ed?."] 
Armed with a twibill or twibills. 
But if in this reign 
The halberted train 
Or the constable should rebel, 
And make this ticybill'd militia to swell. 
Loyal Songs. (Mason's Supp. to Johnson.) 
twiblade (twi'blad), n. [Also twyblade; < ttei- 
+ blade."] Same as twayblade. 
twice (twis), adi'. [Early mod. E. twise; < ME. 
twies, twiges, < AS. twiges (= MLG. twiges, tines 
= MHG. zwies), with adv. gen. -es, < AS. twiwa, 
ME. twie, twice: see twie.] 1. Two times; on 
two occasions ; in two instances. 
That Cytee was wont to be righte strong ; but it was 
twyes wonnen of the Cristene Men. 
Mandemlle, Travels, p. 46. 
Thus twyes in his slepynge dremed he. 
Chaucer, Nun's Priest's Tale, 1. 192. 
What, would'st thou have a serpent sting thee twice? 
Shak., M. of V., iv. 1. 69. 
2. In twofold degree or quantity ; doubly. 
Their arrowes an ell long, which they will shoot twice 
as fast as our men. Purchas, Pilgrimage, p. 844. 
If any Stranger be desirous to bring away any for Nov- 
elty's sake, he must be a great Favourite to get a pair of 
Shoes of them [Chinese womenl, though he give twice 
their value. Dampier, Voyages, I. 408. 
And, if you asked of him to say 
What twice 10 was, or 3 times 7, 
He'd glance (in quite a placid way) 
From heaven to earth, from earth to heaven. 
C. S. Calverley, Gemini and Virgo. 
At twice, (a) At two distinct times ; by two distinct 
operations. 
He took out an Instrument, bored thirty holes at twice, 
As they sailed to the Lowlands low. 
Ballad of the Goulden Vanitee, quoted in Mrs. Gordon's 
[Christopher North, p. 483. 
"Did Mr. Tulliver let you have the money all at once?" 
said Mrs. Tulliver. . . . "No: at twice," said Mrs. Moss. 
George Eliot, Mill on the B'loss, iii. 3. 
His Grace should have ... a glass and a half of Cham- 
pagne. His Grace won't drink his wine out of a tumbler, 
so perhaps your ladyship won't mind giving it him at 
twice. Trollope, Phiueas Redux, xxv. 
(I) The second time ; by or on a second trial, perform- 
ance, etc. 
I could hardly compasse one of them [pillars] at twice 
with both my armes. Coryat, Crudities, I. 220. 
Please but your worship now 
To take three drops of the rich water with you, 
I'll undertake your man shall cure you, sir, 
At twice i' your own chamber. 
Middleton (and others), The Widow, iv. 2. 
Twice-laid rope. See ropei. 
twicet (twis), a. [< twice, adv."] Occurring 
twice. 
And, more to our sorrow, we heard of the tivice returne 
of the Paragon, that now the third time was sent vs three 
moneths agoe. Capt. John Smith, Works, II. 236. 
twicer (twi'ser), . [< twice + -er 1 .] A typog- 
rapher who works at both composition and 
presswork. [Eng.] 
twice-Stabbed (twis'stabd), a. In entom., hav- 
ing two red marks like stabs on the dark ground 
of the elytra: as, the twice-stabbed ladybird, 
Chilocoriis bivulnerus. 
twice-told (twis 'told), a. Told or related 
twice; hence, trite; hackneyed. 
Life is as tedious as a twice-told tale 
Vexing the dull ear of a drowsy man. 
Shak., K. John, iii. 4. 108. 
twice-writhen (twis'riTH"n), . The bistort, 
folygonum Bistorta. See Polygonum. 
twicht, twichert. Old spellings of twitch* , 
ticitchi r. 
twichildt (twi'child), a. [Also tiri/cJiilil ; <twi- 
+ child.] Being in second childhood. Com- 
pare tiritchcl~. 
