"double" definition, meaning, and origin

Adjective

Made up of two matching or complementary elements.
- The closet has double doors.
- “[…] it is not fair of you to bring against mankind double weapons ! Such is not the usage of civilized warfare. Dangerous enough you are as woman alone, without bringing to your aid those gifts of mind suited to...
- The [Washington] Post's proprietor through those turbulent [Watergate] days, Katharine Graham, held a double place in Washington’s hierarchy: at once regal Georgetown hostess and scrappy newshound, ready to hold the...
Of twice the quantity.
- Give me a double serving of mashed potatoes.
- Britain's population density used to be double that of China.
- The 40-year-old [Mike Skinner] is happy to put his body on the line in other ways, swapping a mug of tea for a fan's double pint of lager and messily necking it in one. - 2019 January 26, Kitty Empire [pseudonym], “The...
Of a family relationship, related on both the maternal and paternal sides of a family.
- He's my double cousin as my mother's sister married my father's brother.
Designed for two (people, cars, etc.).
- a double room
- a double garage
Folded in two; composed of two layers.
Stooping; bent over.
Having two aspects; ambiguous.
- a double meaning
- Assuming the accuracy of his information, the curious fact was established that Mr Rigby Lacksome, ostensibly in England to attend the book sales, had prompted a convenient organization to carry out a raid on a certain...
False, deceitful, or hypocritical.
- a double life
- 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, - c. 1515–1516, published 1568, John Skelton, Againſt venemous tongues enpoyſoned...
Of flowers, having more than the normal number of petals.
Of an instrument, sounding an octave lower.
- a double bass
Of time, twice as fast.

Origin

PIE word *dwóh₁ From Middle English double, from Old French doble, double, from Latin duplus (“twofold”). Doublet of doppio and duple.

Adverb

Twice over; twofold; doubly.
- February 7 1736, Jonathan Swift, letter to Alexander Pope I was double their age.
Two together; two at a time.
- When I met the twins, I thought I was seeing double.
- There are only a few beds, so some of the children will have to sleep double for the night.
Into two halves or sections.
- The old man was bent double under his heavy burden.

Synonyms

doubly

Noun

Twice the number, amount, size, etc.
A person who resembles and stands in for another person, often for safety purposes
- Saddam Hussein was rumored to have many doubles.
A drink with two portions of alcohol.
- On second thought, make that a double.
A ghostly apparition of a living person; a doppelgänger.
- According to the description our captain had given me of Peter Sandaker once when he had dropped behind on the march, he was particularly good at telling tales and stories about goblin-birds, doubles, and fairies, and...
A sharp turn, especially a return on one's own tracks.
A redundant item for which an identical item already exists.
- I have more than 200 stamps in my collection but they're not all unique: some are doubles.
- Before printing the photos, Liam deleted the doubles.
A two-base hit.
- The catcher hit a double to lead off the ninth.
A call that increases certain scoring points if the last preceding bid becomes the contract.
A strike in which the object ball is struck so as to make it rebound against the cushion to an opposite pocket.
- Brecel fired in doubles, a succession of stunning long pots and seemingly cleared balls at will as he rattled through the first four frames in under an hour. - 2023 May 1, Steve Sutcliffe, “World Snooker Championship...
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.
- Not only did I collect on the double; I had the win and the place money as well. - 2005, Kenneth Brown, ...and I Survived: A Barnardo Boy's Memoir, page 55:
The narrow outermost ring on a dartboard.
A hit on this ring.

Forms

doubles

Derived

at the double automatic double body double daily double delusion of doubles double-count ground rule double on the double quintuple double snapdragon double stunt double syndrome of subjective doubles turnpike doubles

Verb

To multiply by two.
- The company doubled their earnings per share over last quarter.
To increase by 100%, to become twice as large in size.
- Our earnings have doubled in the last year.
To be the double of; to exceed by twofold; to contain or be worth twice as much as.
- Thus re-inforc’d, againſt the adverſe Fleet / Still doubling ours, brave Rupert leads the way. - 1667, John Dryden, Annus Mirabilis: The Year of Wonders, 1666. […], London: […] Henry Herringman, […], →OCLC, stanza 119,...
To fold over so as to make two folds.
- To make a pleat, double the material at the waist.
To clench (a fist).
To get a two-base hit.
- The batter doubled into the corner.
To join or couple.
To repeat exactly; copy.
To serve a second role or have a second purpose. [with as]
- A spork is a kind of fork that doubles as a spoon.
To act as substitute for (another theatrical performer in a certain role, etc).
- Laforêt, who (as the French express it), doubles Lainez, that is, performs the same characters in his absence. - 1801, Francis William Blagdon, Paris as it was and as it is, published 1803, II, xli, 60:
- […] and when she attempted to double the part of her mother, she equally failed in playing the great or agreeable lady. - 1814, Elizabeth Hervey, The Mourtray Family: Third Edition, page 31:
To play (both one part and another, in the same play, etc).
- When, therefore, Briggs, the sedate, middle-aged individual, who in the Markham household doubles the roles of butler and valet, makes his appearance, his master affects to be in a great hurry, looks at his watch, and...
- Miss Theby doubles in the part of Rose and the native girl in the Philippines. This is a problem plot in which a young man leaves the girl of his choice because she has had an affair in her earlier years. He goes to the...
- In On the Beat he doubles the parts of a constable and a gang-leader. Norman was all over the place. - 1997, Roger Lewis, The Life and Death of Peter Sellers, Hal Leonard Corporation, →ISBN:
To turn sharply, following a winding course.