[ noun ] two items of the same kind <noun.quantity>
Twain \Twain\, a. & n. [OE. twein, tweien, tweyne, AS. tw[=e]gen, masc. See {Two}.] Two; -- nearly obsolete in common discourse, but used in poetry and burlesque. ``Children twain.'' --Chaucer.
And whosoever shall compel thee to go a mile, go with him twain. --Matt. v. 41.
{In twain}, in halves; into two parts; asunder.
When old winder split the rocks in twain. --Dryden.
{Twain cloud}. (Meteor.) Same as {Cumulo-stratus}.
The effect of this wonderfully direct contrast between the sensibilities of East and West is a chance to see what happens when the twain do in fact meet.
Rudyard Kipling meant the world and not Congress when he wrote that "East is East and West is West," but debate last week on Capitol Hill showed that the twain have a hard time meeting here.
I've always felt there's a movie in it." Although Bat Masterson and Wyatt Earp both operated in Dodge City, the twain never met on television, since they were on different networks.
He quoted a phrase from author Rudyard Kipling _ "Oh, East is East and West is West and never the twain shall meet" _ and said: "Kipling probably made a mistake.