Home › Glossary › Letter D

Dual number

Grammar
Pronunciation

Understanding ARPABET Pronunciation

Want to hear it? Click the Listen button to hear the browser speak the word using text-to-speech!

The pronunciation guide uses the ARPABET phonetic system—the same system used in speech recognition and text-to-speech applications.

Vowel Examples:
AE1 = cat, bat
EH1 = bed, head
IY1 = see, me
OW1 = go, boat
UW1 = boot, do
Stress Numbers:
0 = no stress (unstressed)
1 = primary stress (loud)
2 = secondary stress (medium)
Example:
AH0 TH IY1 N AH0
= a-THEE-na (Athena)

The stressed syllable (marked with 1) is pronounced louder and clearer than others.

Quick Definition

A grammatical number (found in some languages) that specifically denotes exactly two entities, distinct from singular or plural forms.

Detailed Definition
The Dual number is a grammatical category (found in Greek, Sanskrit, Arabic) indicating exactly two referents, distinct from singular and plural; in poetry, dual constructions evoke intimacy, partnership, or binary opposition—as in Homeric epithets for paired warriors or lovers—highlighting relational dynamics that plural forms would obscure, and influencing English through archaic or liturgical phrasing (“both eyes”).
Example
Example in poetry:
Dual number: Rare in English, but in poetic archaism: "Both eyes saw the twin stars"—where “both” implies a grammatical dual, as in ancient Greek or Sanskrit.
Additional Notes
A grammatical category (found in some languages) indicating exactly two of something, distinct from singular or plural. Relevant when analyzing poetry in languages with dual forms (e.g., ancient Greek). Affects translation choices.
Also Known As
Paired number Dyadic form Twin grammatical number Binary plurality
Skip to main content