a. [ OE. doble, duble, double, OF. doble, duble, double, F. double, fr. L. duplus, fr. the root of duo two, and perh. that of plenus full; akin to Gr.
Let a double portion of thy spirit be upon me. 2 Kings ii. 9. [ 1913 Webster ]
Darkness and tempest make a double night. Dryden. [ 1913 Webster ]
[ Let ] The swan, on still St. Mary's lake,
Float double, swan and shadow. Wordsworth. [ 1913 Webster ]
With a double heart do they speak. Ps. xii. 2. [ 1913 Webster ]
☞ Double is often used as the first part of a compound word, generally denoting two ways, or twice the number, quantity, force, etc., twofold, or having two. [ 1913 Webster ]
Double base,
Double bass
Double convex.
Double counterpoint (Mus.),
Double court (Lawn Tennis),
Double dagger (Print.),
Double drum (Mus.),
Double eagle,
Double entry.
Double floor (Arch.),
Double flower.
Double-framed floor (Arch.),
Double fugue (Mus.),
Double letter.
Double note (Mus.),
Double octave (Mus.),
Double pica.
Double play (Baseball),
Double plea (Law),
Double point (Geom.),
Double quarrel. (Eccl. Law)
Double refraction. (Opt.)
Double salt. (Chem.)
Double shuffle,
Double standard (Polit. Econ.),
Double star (Astron.),
Double time (Mil.).
Double window,
adv. Twice; doubly. [ 1913 Webster ]
I was double their age. Swift. [ 1913 Webster ]
v. t.
Double six thousand, and then treble that. Shak. [ 1913 Webster ]
Then the old man
Was wroth, and doubled up his hands. Tennyson. [ 1913 Webster ]
Thus reënforced, against the adverse fleet,
Still doubling ours, brave Rupert leads the way. Dryden. [ 1913 Webster ]
Sailing along the coast, the doubled the promontory of Carthage. Knolles. [ 1913 Webster ]
v. i.
'T is observed in particular nations, that within the space of three hundred years, notwithstanding all casualties, the number of men doubles. T. Burnet. [ 1913 Webster ]
Doubling and turning like a hunted hare. Dryden. [ 1913 Webster ]
Doubling and doubling with laborious walk. Wordsworth. [ 1913 Webster ]
What penalty and danger you accrue,
If you be found to double. J. Webster. [ 1913 Webster ]
To double upon (Mil.),
n.
If the thief be found, let him pay double. Ex. xxii. 7. [ 1913 Webster ]
Rolled up in sevenfold double
Of plagues. Marston. [ 1913 Webster ]
These men are too well acquainted with the chase to be flung off by any false steps or doubles. Addison. [ 1913 Webster ]
My charming friend . . . has, I am almost sure, a double, who preaches his afternoon sermons for him. Atlantic Monthly. [ 1913 Webster ]
a. Acting or operating in two directions or with both motions; producing a twofold result;
v. t. (Naut.) To row by rowers sitting side by side in twos on a bank or thwart. [ 1913 Webster ]
To double-bank an oar,
a. Applied to a kind of rowing in which the rowers sit side by side in twos, a pair of oars being worked from each bank or thwart.
See under Valve. [ 1913 Webster ]
a. Folding or lapping over on the breast, with a row of buttons and buttonholes on each side;
v. t.
n. one who double-crosses another; a person who says one thing and does another.
adj.
adj.
n.
v. t. To dye again or twice over. [ 1913 Webster ]
To double-dye their robes in scarlet. J. Webster. [ 1913 Webster ]
a. Dyed twice; thoroughly or intensely colored; hence; firmly fixed in opinions or habits;
n.
‖n. [ F. double double + entendre to mean. This is a barbarous compound of French words. The true French equivalent is double entente. ] A word or expression admitting of a double interpretation, one of which is often obscure or indelicate. [ 1913 Webster ]
a. Having a deceitful look. [ R. ] “Deceitful meanings is double-eyed.” Spenser. [ 1913 Webster ]
a.
(Eng. Universities)
n. [ G. doppelgänger; doppel double + gänger walker. ] An apparition or double of a living person; a doppelgänger.
Either you are Hereward, or you are his doubleganger. C. Kingsley. [ Webster 1913 Suppl. ]
a.
a. Having two heads; bicipital. [ 1913 Webster ]
Double-headed rail (Railroad),
n. two events, usually entertainment or sports performances, occurring immediately in succession or within a short time of each other; especially, two sports games played by the same teams on the same day, one right after another. A doubleheader in baseball is often scheduled between teams when a previously shceduled game is postponed, as due to rain or other interfering factors. In such cases, the admission price for the doubleheader remains that of a single game, though two games are played.
a. Having a false heart; deceitful; treacherous. Sandys. [ 1913 Webster ]
a. Having both sashes hung with weights and cords; -- said of a window. [ 1913 Webster ]
v. t. To lock with two bolts; to fasten with double security. Tatler. [ 1913 Webster ]
a. Twice milled or fulled, to render more compact or fine; -- said of cloth;
a. Having different minds at different times; unsettled; undetermined. [ 1913 Webster ]
A double-minded man is unstable in all his ways. Jas. i. 8. [ 1913 Webster ]
n.
. Cinch (the game). [ Webster 1913 Suppl. ]
v. i. & t. (Mil.) To move, or cause to move, in double-quick time. [ 1913 Webster ]
a. (Mil.) Of, or performed in, the fastest time or step in marching, next to the run;
n. Double-quick time, step, or march. [ 1913 Webster ]
☞ Double-quick time requires 165 steps, each 33 inches in length, to be taken in one minute. The number of steps may be increased up to 180 per minute. [ 1913 Webster ]
n.
n. A kind of coasting sled, made of two sleds fastened together with a board, one before the other. [ Local, U. S. ] [ 1913 Webster ]
n.
v. t. To double the natural darkness of (a place). Milton. [ 1913 Webster ]
n. a standard or set of principles governing conduct, which is applied more stringently or differently to one group of people than to another; -- used especially of standards of sexual behavior that condemn behavior on the part of women that is condoned or not condemned when exhibited by men. [ PJC ]
a. Having two surfaces; -- said specif. of aëroplane wings or aërocurves which are covered on both sides with fabric, etc., thus completely inclosing their frames. [ Webster 1913 Suppl. ]
n. [ In sense 3, OF. doublet; in sense 4, F. doublet, dim. of double double. See Double, a. ]
a.
n. Deceit; duplicity. [ 1913 Webster ]
Now cometh the sin of double-tongue, such as speak fair before folk and wickedly behind. Chaucer. [ 1913 Webster ]