Twice

How to spell twice

5 letters · 1 syllable

How to pronounce twice

What does twice mean?

1. adverbOn two occasions; two times.

Twice in a sentence

• The cleaner visits the office twice a week.

• He read the contract twice before signing it.

Where does twice come from?

Language of origin: Germanic

The word comes from Old English twiwa or twiges, meaning 'two times', built on the same Germanic root that gives us 'two' and 'twin'. The final sound was originally a genitive ending used to form adverbs of frequency, the very same ending that survives in 'once' and 'thrice'. During the Middle English period that ending, once written with a soft 's' sound, came to be spelled with 'ce', which is why we write 'twice' rather than 'twies' even though it is built directly on 'two'. The spelling trap is hidden in plain sight: the 'tw' opening clearly echoes 'two' and 'twin', yet the ending borrowed its look from 'once'. The word has carried its plain counting meaning, 'on two occasions', steadily for well over a thousand years.

How the word is built

• twi- (from twa: two)
• -ce (adverbial genitive suffix, as in once and thrice)