dvīnis

Latvian

Dvīņi

Etymology

From Proto-Indo-European *dwís (twice, twofold) (with an extra sufix *-no, *-nyo), from *dwi- (two), whence also divi (two) (q.v.). Cognates include Lithuanian dvynỹs, Old High German zwiniling (< *twi-na-), German Zwilling, English twin, Latin bini (in twos, in pairs) (< *dwis-no-).[1]

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): [dvìːnis]
(file)

Noun

dvīnis m (2nd declension, feminine form: dvīne)

  1. (male) twin (a boy born together with another child from one mother)
    dvīņu brālistwin brother (a man with a twin brother or sister)
    dvīņu māsatwin sister (a woman with a twin brother or sister)
    dvīņu zvaigznetwin star (i.e., a double star)
    dvīņu klētstwin barn (i.e., two barns under the same roof)
    dvīņi ir līdzīgi pēc ārienestwins are similar in appearance
    Kaspars domāja par saviem dvīņiemKaspars thought about his twins (children)
    turcietei piedzimuši dvīņi, zēns un meitenethe Turkish woman gave birth to twins, a boy and a girl

Usage notes

The singular forms exist but are much less frequent in actual usage than the plural forms (e.g., dvīņu brālis, with dvīņu used adjectivally, is more frequent than dvīnis).

Declension

Derived terms

References

  1. Karulis, Konstantīns (1992), dvīņi”, in Latviešu Etimoloģijas Vārdnīca (in Latvian), Rīga: AVOTS, →ISBN
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