double
Language: English
Part of speech: noun
Pronunciation: ipa: /ˈdʌb(ə)l/
ipa: /ˈdʌb(ə)l/
ipa: [ˈdʌb.ɫ]
rhymes: -ʌbəl
Forms: form: doubles
Etymology: PIE word
 *dwóh₁
From Middle English double, from Old French doble, double, from Latin duplus (“twofold”). Doublet of doppio and duple.
Senses: glosses: Twice the number, amount, size, etc.
examples: text: Saddam Hussein was rumored to have many doubles.
glosses: A person who resembles and stands in for another person, often for safety purposes
examples: text: On second thought, make that a double.
glosses: A drink with two portions of alcohol.
examples: text: 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 had a special fancy for entering into the most minute details, whenever he commenced telling about one or the other of the eighteen bears he had killed in his time.
ref: 1886, Peter Christen Asbjørnsen, translated by H.L. Brækstad, Folk and Fairy Tales, page 71:
glosses: A ghostly apparition of a living person; a doppelgänger.
glosses: A sharp turn, especially a return on one's own tracks.
examples: text: I have more than 200 stamps in my collection but they're not all unique: some are doubles.
text: Before printing the photos, Liam deleted the doubles.
glosses: A redundant item for which an identical item already exists.
examples: text: The catcher hit a double to lead off the ninth.
topics: ball-games
baseball
games
hobbies
lifestyle
sports
glosses: A two-base hit.
topics: bridge
games
glosses: A call that increases certain scoring points if the last preceding bid becomes the contract.
examples: text: 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.
ref: 2023 May 1, Steve Sutcliffe, “World Snooker Championship 2023 final: Luca Brecel beats Mark Selby for first world title”, in BBC Sport:
topics: ball-games
billiards
games
hobbies
lifestyle
snooker
sports
glosses: A strike in which the object ball is struck so as to make it rebound against the cushion to an opposite pocket.
examples: text: Not only did I collect on the double; I had the win and the place money as well.
ref: 2005, Kenneth Brown, ...and I Survived: A Barnardo Boy's Memoir, page 55:
glosses: 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.
topics: darts
games
glosses: The narrow outermost ring on a dartboard.
topics: darts
games
glosses: A hit on this ring.
topics: dominoes
games
glosses: A tile that has the same value (i.e., the same number of pips) on both sides.
examples: text: The sine function returns a double.
topics: computing
engineering
mathematics
natural-sciences
physical-sciences
programming
sciences
glosses: A double-precision floating-point number.
topics: ball-games
games
hobbies
lifestyle
soccer
sports
glosses: Two competitions, usually one league and one cup, won by the same team in a single season.
topics: hobbies
lifestyle
rowing
sports
glosses: A boat for two scullers.
examples: text: DJ Campbell grabbed a second-half double as Blackpool made Sunderland pay for a host of missed chances to secure a fifth away league win of the season.
ref: 2010 December 28, Owen Phillips, “Sunderland 0 - 2 Blackpool”, in BBC:
topics: hobbies
lifestyle
sports
glosses: The feat of scoring twice in one game.
examples: text: In 1996, Michael Johnson achieved a double by winning both the 200 and 400 meter dashes.
topics: hobbies
lifestyle
sports
qualifier: chiefly swimming and track
glosses: The feat of winning two events in a single meet or competition.
topics: ball-games
cricket
games
hobbies
lifestyle
sports
glosses: The achievement of 1000 runs and 100 wickets taken in a single season.
glosses: A former French coin worth one-sixth of a sou.
examples: text: As for doubles, they are not worth anything now; and I have still got an egg-cupful my mother used to keep handy to give the baker change from a farthing.
ref: 1974, GB Edwards, The Book of Ebenezer Le Page, New York, published 2007, page 196:
glosses: A copper coin worth one-eighth of a penny.
topics: entertainment
lifestyle
music
glosses: Playing the same part on two instruments, alternately.
topics: Christianity
glosses: A double feast.
glosses: Synonym of double-quick (“fast marching pace”).
synonyms: word: double-quick
extra: fast marching pace
examples: text: The saxophone is a valuable and rewarding double, and opens up many gigs that aren’t available to players of just the “orchestral” woodwinds.
ref: 2020 January 4, Bret Pimentel, “Woodwind doubling and saxophone problems”, in Bret Pimentel, woodwinds:
topics: entertainment
lifestyle
music
glosses: A secondary instrument with which a musician is skilled.
examples: text: His fellows had chaffed him much upon the way that astute adventurer had bamboozled him, or, in their vernacular, "put the double on him," and vowed that all his energies should be devoted to a return match.
ref: 1880, Hawley Smart, False Cards, page 216:
glosses: A double-cross or betrayal.
Derived terms: 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