Word: double Part of Speech: noun Etymology: PIE word *dwóh₁ From Middle English double, from Old French doble, double, from Latin duplus (“twofold”). Doublet of doppio and duple. Pronunciation: /ˈdʌb.əl/, [ˈdʌb.ɫ̩] 1. Twice the number, amount, size, etc. Example: I did double his sales this month. 2. A person who resembles and stands in for another person, often for safety purposes Example: Saddam Hussein was rumored to have many doubles. 3. A drink with two portions of alcohol. Example: On second thought, make that a double. 4. Two shifts of work back to back. Example: I work a double this weekend. 5. A ghostly apparition of a living person; a doppelgänger. Example: 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. 6. A sharp turn, especially a return on one's own tracks. 7. A redundant item for which an identical item already exists. Example: I have more than 200 stamps in my collection but they're not all unique: some are doubles. Example: Before printing the photos, Liam deleted the doubles. 8. A two-base hit. Example: The catcher hit a double to lead off the ninth. 9. A call that increases certain scoring points if the last preceding bid becomes the contract. 10. A strike in which the object ball is struck so as to make it rebound against the cushion to an opposite pocket. Example: 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. 11. 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. Example: Not only did I collect on the double; I had the win and the place money as well. 12. The narrow outermost ring on a dartboard. 13. A hit on this ring. 14. A tile that has the same value (i.e., the same number of pips) on both sides. 15. A double-precision floating-point number. Example: The sine function returns a double. 16. Two competitions, usually one league and one cup, won by the same team in a single season. 17. A boat for two scullers. 18. The feat of scoring twice in one game. Example: 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. 19. The feat of winning two events in a single meet or competition. Example: In 1996, Michael Johnson achieved a double by winning both the 200 and 400 meter dashes. 20. The achievement of 1000 runs and 100 wickets taken in a single season. 21. A former French coin worth one-sixth of a sou. Labels: historical 22. A copper coin worth one-eighth of a penny. Labels: Guernsey, historical Example: 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. 23. Playing the same part on two instruments, alternately. 24. A double feast. 25. Synonym of double-quick (“fast marching pace”). 26. A secondary instrument with which a musician is skilled. Example: The saxophone is a valuable and rewarding double, and opens up many gigs that aren’t available to players of just the “orchestral” woodwinds. 27. A double-cross or betrayal. Labels: dated, slang Example: 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. 28. A double agent. Example: 'This is 007 speaking. This is an open line. It's an emergency. Can you hear me? Pass this on at once. 3030 was a double, working for Redland.