twosome

English

Etymology

From Middle English twosome, equivalent to two +‎ -some. Cognate with Scots twasome, twaesome (“twosome”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈtuːsəm/

• Audio (Southern England)

  (file)

• Rhymes: -uːsəm

Adjective

twosome (not comparable)

1. Being or constituting a pair; two.
2. Twofold; double.
3. Performed by two individuals.

   a twosome dance

Synonyms

• (twofold): twissel; see also Thesaurus:twofold

Derived terms

• gruesome twosome

 

Noun

twosome (plural twosomes)

1. A group of two; a pair; a couple; a group of two distinct individuals or components.
   • 1960, P. G. Wodehouse, Jeeves in the Offing, chapter III:

     And I was tooling along a mossy path with the brow a bit wet with honest sweat, when there came to my ears the unmistakable sound of somebody reading poetry to someone, and the next moment I found myself confronting a mixed twosome who had dropped anchor beneath a shady tree in what is known as a leafy glade.

2. A dance for two people.

Synonyms

• (group of two): duet, duo, pair; see also Thesaurus:duo

Translations

a group of two people; two individuals or components

• Bulgarian: двойка (bg) f (dvojka)
• Czech: dvojice (cs) f
• Finnish: duo (fi)
• French: couple (fr)
• Maori: tokorua, takirua
• Polish: dwoje (pl), dwójka (pl) f, para (pl) f, duet (pl) m
• Russian: дво́е (ru) (dvóje), дво́йка (ru) f (dvójka), па́ра (ru) f (pára), дуэ́т (ru) m (duét)
• Spanish: pareja (es)