Twi
noun
a Kwa language spoken in Ghana that is mutually intelligible with Fanti.
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Twi
1 American
[chwee, chee, twee]
/ tʃwi, tʃi, twi /
Also
Tshi
noun
twi-
2
American
Twi
British
/ twiː /
noun
-
Formerly called: Ashanti. a language of S Ghana: one of the two chief dialects of Akan Compare Fanti
-
a member of the Negroid people who speak this language
Usage
What does twi- mean? Twi- is a combining form used like a prefix meaning “two” or “twice.” It appears in some older, mostly obsolete and rare terms. Twi- ultimately comes from the Old English twi-, closely related to two, twelve, twice, twin, and even twig. The Latin counterpart to twi- is bi- and the Greek is di-. Twi- isn’t productive in English today, with two, twin, and twice variously combined with words to do the former work of twi-. Combining forms derived from other languages, such as bi- or di-, are widely used, especially in technical terms.
Etymology
Origin of twi-
Middle English, Old English; cognate with German zwie- ( Old High German zwi- ), Latin bi-, Greek di-. See 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.
See Examples For:
He does not speak Twi and said he has struggled to make friends and feels socially anxious.
From BBC ● Nov. 4, 2025
The power cuts were so bad that Mahama joked at the time that he was known as "Mr Dumsor" - dum means off and sor means on in the local Twi language.
From BBC ● Dec. 5, 2024
It was 1978, the festival’s second year, and Davis’s opening words were a call and response in the Twi language: “Ago! Ame!”
From New York Times ● May 25, 2023
In the Twi language, “Maame” means both “mother” and “woman.”
From Washington Post ● Feb. 8, 2023
She likes how he greets her in Twi: Eti sen?
From "You Bring the Distant Near" by Mitali Perkins
Where it were friendship's schism, Were not his Lucius long with us to tarry, To separate these twi- Lights, the Dioscuri; And keep the one half from his Harry.
From English Verse Specimens Illustrating its Principles and History by Raymond MacDonald Alden
Singing "Home, Sweet home," we swept, and scrubbed, and dusted up the place, Then smoked out on the doorstep in the twi- light's tender grace.
From 'Hello, Soldier!' Khaki Verse by Edward Dyson
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
