English Online Dictionary. What means double? What does double mean?
English
Etymology
From Middle English double, from Old French doble, double, from Latin duplus (“twofold”). Doublet of doppio and duple.
Pronunciation
- (Received Pronunciation) IPA(key): /ˈdʌb(ə)l/
- (General American) IPA(key): /ˈdʌb(ə)l/, [ˈdʌb.ɫ]
- Rhymes: -ʌbəl
- Hyphenation: doub‧le
Adjective
double (not comparable)
- Made up of two matching or complementary elements.
- Of twice the quantity.
- Of a family relationship, related on both the maternal and paternal sides of a family.
- Designed for two (people, cars, etc.).
- Folded in two; composed of two layers.
- Stooping; bent over.
- Having two aspects; ambiguous.
- False, deceitful, or hypocritical.
- c. 1515–1516, published 1568, John Skelton, Againſt venemous tongues enpoyſoned with ſclaunder and falſe detractions &c.:
- A fals double tunge is more fiers and fell
Then Cerberus the cur couching in the kenel of hel;
Wherof hereafter, I thinke for to write,
Of fals double tunges in the diſpite.
- A fals double tunge is more fiers and fell
- c. 1515–1516, published 1568, John Skelton, Againſt venemous tongues enpoyſoned with ſclaunder and falſe detractions &c.:
- Of flowers, having more than the normal number of petals.
- (music) Of an instrument, sounding an octave lower.
- (music) Of time, twice as fast.
Synonyms
- (made up of two matching or complementary elements): binary, twin; see also Thesaurus:dual
- (twice the quantity): duplicate, twofold; see also Thesaurus:twofold
- (having two aspects): twofold
Antonyms
- (antonym(s) of “made up of two matching or complementary elements”): half
- (antonym(s) of “of twice the quantity”): half
Derived terms
Descendants
- → Gulf Arabic: دبل (dabal)
Translations
See also
Adverb
double (not comparable)
- Twice over; twofold; doubly.
- February 7 1736, Jonathan Swift, letter to Alexander Pope
- I was double their age.
- February 7 1736, Jonathan Swift, letter to Alexander Pope
- Two together; two at a time.
- Into two halves or sections.
Synonyms
- (twice over): doubly; see also Thesaurus:twice
Noun
double (plural doubles)
- Twice the number, amount, size, etc.
- A person who resembles and stands in for another person, often for safety purposes
- A drink with two portions of alcohol.
- A ghostly apparition of a living person; a doppelgänger.
- A sharp turn, especially a return on one's own tracks.
- A redundant item for which an identical item already exists.
- (baseball) A two-base hit.
- (bridge) A call that increases certain scoring points if the last preceding bid becomes the contract.
- (billiards, snooker) A strike in which the object ball is struck so as to make it rebound against the cushion to an opposite pocket.
- A bet on two horses in different races in which any winnings from the first race are placed on the horse in the later race.
- (darts) The narrow outermost ring on a dartboard.
- (darts) A hit on this ring.
- (dominoes) A tile that has the same value (i.e., the same number of pips) on both sides.
- (programming) A double-precision floating-point number.
- (soccer) Two competitions, usually one league and one cup, won by the same team in a single season.
- (rowing) A boat for two scullers.
- (sports) The feat of scoring twice in one game.
- (sports, chiefly swimming and track) The feat of winning two events in a single meet or competition.
- (cricket) The achievement of 1000 runs and 100 wickets taken in a single season.
- (historical) A former French coin worth one-sixth of a sou.
- (historical, Guernsey) A copper coin worth one-eighth of a penny.
- (music) Playing the same part on two instruments, alternately.
- (Christianity) A double feast.
- Synonym of double-quick (“fast marching pace”)
- (music) A secondary instrument with which a musician is skilled.
- (slang, dated) A double-cross or betrayal.
Derived terms
Translations
Verb
double (third-person singular simple present doubles, present participle doubling, simple past and past participle doubled)
- (transitive) To multiply by two.
- (intransitive) To increase by 100%, to become twice as large in size.
- To be the double of; to exceed by twofold; to contain or be worth twice as much as.
- (transitive) To fold over so as to make two folds.
- (transitive, sometimes followed by up) To clench (a fist).
- (baseball) To get a two-base hit.
- (transitive, often followed by together or up) To join or couple.
- (transitive) To repeat exactly; copy.
- (intransitive) To serve a second role or have a second purpose. [with as]
- (ambitransitive, sometimes with "for") To act as substitute for (another theatrical performer in a certain role, etc).
- (theater) To play (both one part and another, in the same play, etc).
- (intransitive) To turn sharply, following a winding course.
- (nautical) To sail around (a headland or other point).
- (music) To duplicate (a part) either in unison or at the octave above or below it.
- (music, intransitive, usually followed by "on") To be capable of performing (upon an additional instrument).
- (bridge) To make a call that will double certain scoring points if the preceding bid becomes the contract.
- (card games, intransitive) To double down.
- (billiards, snooker, pool) To cause (a ball) to rebound from a cushion before entering the pocket.
- (intransitive) To go or march at twice the normal speed.
- (transitive) To multiply the strength or effect of by two.
- (military) To unite, as ranks or files, so as to form one from each two.
- (radio, informal, of a station) To transmit simultaneously on the same channel as another station, either unintentionally or deliberately, causing interference.
- (espionage, intransitive) To operate as a double agent.
Synonyms
- (to multiply by two): redouble; see also Thesaurus:double
- (to repeat exactly; copy): facsimilize; see also Thesaurus:duplicate
Antonyms
- (antonym(s) of “to multiply by two”): halve; see also Thesaurus:bisect
Derived terms
Translations
See also
- quadruple
- quintuple
- sextuple
- single
- triple
Anagrams
- Lobedu, bouled, dobule
Chinese
Etymology
From English double.
Pronunciation
Noun
double
- (Hong Kong Cantonese) times; -fold (Classifier: 個／个 c)
- 使多一個double／使多一个double [Hong Kong Cantonese] ― sai2 do1 jat1 go3 dap1 bou4 [Jyutping] ― to use onefold more
-
- 試過賺幾個double，我見好就會收，不過洪欣就試過走唔切。 [Hong Kong Cantonese, trad.]
- si3 gwo3 zaan6 gei2 go3 dap1 bou4, ngo5 gin3 hou2 zau6 wui5 sau1, bat1 gwo3 hung4 jan1 zau6 si3 gwo3 zau2 m4 cit3. [Jyutping]
- I've experienced earning multiple times [of the original amount invested] before; I would quit while one is ahead, but Hung Yan once did not leave the market in time.
试过赚几个double，我见好就会收，不过洪欣就试过走唔切。 [Hong Kong Cantonese, simp.]
Synonyms
- doub
Verb
double
- (Hong Kong Cantonese) to double; to increase by 100%
Synonyms
- doub
References
- English Loanwords in Hong Kong Cantonese
French
Etymology
Inherited from Old French doble, from Latin duplus.
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /dubl/
Adjective
double (plural doubles)
- double (all senses), two
- (music) sixteenth note
- une double croche ― a sixteenth note
Derived terms
Related terms
- doubler
Descendants
- → Romanian: dublu
Noun
double m (plural doubles)
- double (twice the number, amount, etc.)
- duplicate (an identical copy)
- (baseball) double
Verb
double
- inflection of doubler:
- first/third-person singular present indicative/subjunctive
- second-person singular imperative
Further reading
- “double”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012.