I. ˈdəblə̇t, usu -ə̇d+V noun
( -s )
Etymology: Middle English, from Middle French, from Old French, from doble, double double + -et — more at double
1.
a. : a man's close-fitting garment for the upper body made with or without long sleeves and with or without short skirts, usually padded, quilted, and decorated with slashes, embroidery, and jewels, and worn in western Europe especially during the 16th and 17th centuries
b. : a quilted undergarment reinforced by rings of mail and worn under armor
2. : something consisting of two identical or similar parts: as
a.
(1) : a gem composed of two pieces of crystal or semiprecious stone sometimes with a layer of colored glass between them
(2) : a piece of paste or glass covered by a veneer of real stone
b. : a lens consisting of two components (as for reducing aberration or increasing power) ; specifically : a small magnifying hand lens consisting of two single lenses mounted in a metal cylinder and often with an attached metal carrying case
c. : a spectrum line having two close components
d. : a radio antenna of two wires pointing in opposite directions from the point where the power is supplied and usually having dimensions that are small compared to the wavelength of the signal being used
e. : double 4h
3. : a set of two identical or similar things : pair , couple : as
a. : the result of a cast of two dice when each has the same number of spots on the face lying uppermost — usually used in plural
b. : two birds killed in the air at one time with a double-barreled gun
4. : one of a pair : one of two identical or similar things: as
a. : one of two or more words in the same language derived by different routes of transmission from the same source (as English dais from Middle English deis from Old French deis from Latin discus, English dish from Middle English dish from Old English disc from Latin discus, and English discus from Latin discus )
b. : one or more characters or words typeset or typed twice by mistake — called also double
c. : material (as a news item) unintentionally repeated in an issue of a newspaper
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II. noun
1.
a. : a pair of atomic, molecular, or nuclear quantum states that are usually close together in energy and arise from two possible orientations of spin
b. : a pair of spectral frequencies of light arising from transitions to or from such quantum states
2. : a pair of otherwise similar elementary particles (as a proton and a neutron) with different charge
3. : any of nine pairs of microtubules found in cilia and flagella