Translation
two
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Examples
.
There were two brothers.
exspectavi.
I waited two hours.
explicavit.
He explained the matter in two words.
passuum .
We walked two miles.
.
Peace was made between the two kings.
Latin declines only three of its cardinal numbers, and duo is one of them. Unus, duo and tres change their endings; everything from quattuor to centum sits there unaltered, and only from ducenti upwards do the numerals start declining again.
Duo carries a fossil of the dual number that Latin lost and Greek kept. Its forms are duo, duae, duo in the nominative; duorum, duarum, duorum in the genitive; duobus, duabus, duobus in the dative and ablative; and in the accusative duos or duo for the masculine, duas for the feminine, duo for the neuter. Ambo, "both", declines identically, and it is worth learning as a pair with this one.
Watch the mile. Mille passus is a thousand paces, one Roman mile; the plural is milia, a neuter noun taking a genitive, so two miles is duo milia passuum, "two thousands of paces". English took duo, dual, duet, double, duplicate, dubious and doubt (a mind in two), and two itself is a cognate rather than a borrowing.
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Latin · Free printables
duo: worksheet, infographic and listicle
Free printable study downloads for the Latin word "duo" (two): a worksheet with the answer key built in, an infographic, and a sentence listicle. Open any one to view, print or save.
This word is taught in chapter 1, lesson 7: duo, tu, pro and 10 more words.