dvandva

American

[dvahn-dvah, dvuhn-dvuh] / ˈdvɑn dvɑ, ˈdvʌn dvə /

noun

Grammar.

a compound word neither element of which is subordinate to the other, as bittersweet, Anglo-Saxon.

dvandva British

/ ˈdvɑːndvɑː /

noun

a class of compound words consisting of two elements having a coordinate relationship as if connected by and
a compound word of this type, such as Austro-Hungarian, tragicomic

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Etymology

Origin of dvandva

1840–50; < Sanskrit, nasalized reduplication of dva two

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

We have what we call in Sanskrit dvandva, a series of opposites in creation; such as, the positive pole and the negative, the centripetal force and the centrifugal, attraction and repulsion.

From Sadhana : the realisation of life by Tagore, Rabindranath

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023