Doubles

How to spell doubles

7 letters · 2 syllables

How to pronounce doubles

Say the part in capitals loudest.

What does doubles mean?

1. verbBecomes or makes twice as large, many, or much.
2. nounA form of tennis, badminton, or table tennis played with two players on each side.
3. nounServings of spirits containing two standard measures each.

Doubles in a sentence

• verb

  The company doubles its profit whenever it opens a new branch.

• noun

  She partnered her brother in the mixed doubles final.

• noun

  He ordered two whisky doubles for the table.

• verb

  Folding the paper in half doubles its thickness.

• noun

  The club holds a doubles tournament every Saturday morning.

• noun

  The bartender poured generous doubles for the regulars.

Where does doubles come from?

Language of origin: French

This is the plural and third-person form of 'double', which reached English around the year 1300 from the Old French 'doble' or 'duble'. That French word descended from the Latin 'duplus', meaning 'twofold' or 'twice as much', a compound of 'duo' (two) and a root meaning 'fold', so the literal idea was something folded over onto itself to make two layers. The same 'duplus' family gave English the related words 'duplicate' and 'duplex', all carrying the sense of two. The silent-looking 'ou' spelling comes straight through French, where the vowel softened over time even though the pronunciation in English settled on a short 'uh' sound. Because the spelling no longer matches the simple 'two' idea many people associate it with, the 'ou' is the small trap to remember.

How the word is built

• doubl- (from Latin duplus: twofold)
• -es (plural noun / third-person singular verb ending)