PIE word *dwóh₁ From Middle English two, twa, from Old English twā, feminine and neuter of twēġen (whence twain), from Proto-West Germanic *twai-, from Proto-Germanic *twai, from Proto-Indo-European *dwóh₁. Cognates Cognate with Scots twa (“two”); North Frisian tou, tuu (“two”); Saterland Frisian twäin, two (“two”); West Frisian twa (“two”); Dutch twee (“two”); Low German twee, twei (“two”); German zwei, zwo (“two”); Danish and Norwegian to (“two”); Swedish två, tu (“two”); Icelandic tvö (“two”); Faroese tvey (“two”); Latin duō (“two”); Ancient Greek δύο (dúo, “two”); Irish dhá (“two”); Lithuanian dù (“two”); Russian два (dva, “two”); Albanian dy (“two”); Old Armenian երկու (erku, “two”); Sanskrit द्व (dvá, “two”); Tocharian A wu, Tocharian B wi. Doublet of duo. See also twain. Unrelated to resembling words in Austronesian languages, including Malagasy roa; Cebuano and Tagalog dalawa; West Coast Bajau and Minangkabau duo; Buginese ᨉᨘᨓ (dua); Indonesian, Iban, Iranun, Ilocano, Sundanese, and Malay dua; West Coast Bajau and Minangkabau duo; Fijian, Māori, Rapa Nui, and Rotuman rua; Niuean and Tongan ua; Hawaiian, Samoan, and Wallisian lua; South Marquesan 'ua. All of which originated from Proto-Austronesian *duSa.
1
A numerical value equal to 2; this many dots (••).
Venters began to count them—one—two—three—four—on up to sixteen.1912 January, Zane Grey, chapter 8, in Riders of the Purple Sage […], New York, N.Y.; London: Harper & Brothers Publishers, →OCLC:
2
Describing a set or group with two elements.
“[…]The two murders might have been done by one of the ryots who was dissatisfied over his assessment and thought he had a grievance. […].”1927, F. E. Penny, chapter 5, in Pulling the Strings:
The surveillance program includes at least 480 LPRs that scan and record about 16.2 million vehicles per week and stores that data for two years, he wrote in the court filing.2023 July 24, Chris Eberhart, “NY police used AI to track drivers on highways as attorney questions legality”, in Fox News, archived from the original on 28 Aug 2023:
Table of cardinal numbers 0 to 9 in various languages
two
noun
Etymology
PIE word *dwóh₁ From Middle English two, twa, from Old English twā, feminine and neuter of twēġen (whence twain), from Proto-West Germanic *twai-, from Proto-Germanic *twai, from Proto-Indo-European *dwóh₁. Cognates Cognate with Scots twa (“two”); North Frisian tou, tuu (“two”); Saterland Frisian twäin, two (“two”); West Frisian twa (“two”); Dutch twee (“two”); Low German twee, twei (“two”); German zwei, zwo (“two”); Danish and Norwegian to (“two”); Swedish två, tu (“two”); Icelandic tvö (“two”); Faroese tvey (“two”); Latin duō (“two”); Ancient Greek δύο (dúo, “two”); Irish dhá (“two”); Lithuanian dù (“two”); Russian два (dva, “two”); Albanian dy (“two”); Old Armenian երկու (erku, “two”); Sanskrit द्व (dvá, “two”); Tocharian A wu, Tocharian B wi. Doublet of duo. See also twain. Unrelated to resembling words in Austronesian languages, including Malagasy roa; Cebuano and Tagalog dalawa; West Coast Bajau and Minangkabau duo; Buginese ᨉᨘᨓ (dua); Indonesian, Iban, Iranun, Ilocano, Sundanese, and Malay dua; West Coast Bajau and Minangkabau duo; Fijian, Māori, Rapa Nui, and Rotuman rua; Niuean and Tongan ua; Hawaiian, Samoan, and Wallisian lua; South Marquesan 'ua. All of which originated from Proto-Austronesian *duSa.
1
The digit/figure 2.
The number 2202 contains three twos.
In our example, 1210 has 1 zero, 2 ones, 1 two and 0 threes. […] The number has 2 twos.2008 March 2, Tanya Khovanova, “Autobiographical Numbers”, in arXiv, pages 1, 2:
It was a weary time. A carriage clock had been placed on the discoloured wooden mantelpiece, and slowly its hands crept on from one to two and from two to three.1925 July – 1926 May, A[rthur] Conan Doyle, “In which Three Investigators Come across a Dark Soul”, in The Land of Mist (eBook no. 0601351h.html), Australia: Project Gutenberg Australia, published April 2019: