Dual

How to spell dual

4 letters · 2 syllables

How to pronounce dual

Say the part in capitals loudest.

What does dual mean?

1. adjectiveConsisting of, or relating to, two parts, aspects, or functions.

Dual in a sentence

• The car has a dual braking system for added safety.

• She holds dual citizenship in Canada and Italy.

Where does dual come from?

Language of origin: Latin

This word comes from the Latin dualis, meaning 'containing two', which was built on duo, the Latin word for 'two'. English adopted it in the early 1600s as a learned adjective for anything made of, or relating to, a pair. The very same duo root sits inside familiar relatives such as 'double', 'duet', 'duo' and 'duplicate', all of which carry the idea of twoness. The spelling trap is purely aural: 'dual' sounds exactly like 'duel', the word for a formal armed fight, yet they are unrelated, since 'duel' comes from the Latin duellum, an old poetic form of bellum 'war'. Holding the 'du- plus two' image in mind is the surest way to keep 'dual' from drifting into the combative 'duel'.

How the word is built

• du- (from Latin duo: two)
• -al (adjective suffix: relating to)

Words that sound like dual

They sound the same but mean different things, so the meaning decides which spelling to write.

• duel: A prearranged combat or contest between two people, traditionally with weapons, fought to settle a point of honour.