An Etymological Dictionary of the German Language/Annotated/zwei

by Friedrich Kluge

zwei, numeral, ‘two,’ from the equivalent Middle High German zwëne, masculine, zwô, feminine, zwei, neuter; Old High German zwêne, masculine, zwo, feminine, zwei, neuter; common to Teutonic and Aryan. Compare Old Saxon twêne, masculine, twô, twâ, feminine, twei, neuter; Gothic twai, masculine, twôs, feminine, twa, neuter; Anglo-Saxon twêgen, masculine, twô, feminine, tû, neuter; English two, Dutch twê, Old Frisian twêne, masculine, twâ, feminine, twâ, neuter; Old Icelandic tveir, masculine, tvœr, feminine, tvau, neuter; Swedish tvâ, Danish to, tvende, masculine, to, feminine, to, neuter. Compare further zwanzig and zwölf. Corresponding in the non-Teutonic languages to Sanscrit dva, Zend dva, Greek δύο, Latin duo, Old Irish dá, Lithuanian dù, Russian dva. In earlier Modern High German the forms for the different genders were kept separate (zween, masculine, zwo, feminine, zwei, neuter), until in the 17th century the neuter form became the prevalent one. For further cognates see Zweifel and Zwist. —