twain

 
Pronunciation: /tweɪn/

cardinal number

  • archaic term for two. he split the spar in twain

Phrases

never the twain shall meet

used to suggest that two things are too different to exist alongside each other: families were either ‘church’ or ‘chapel’ and never the twain shall meet
[from Rudyard Kipling's ‘Oh, East is East, and West is West, and never the twain shall meet’ (Barrack-room Ballads, 1892)]

Origin:

Old English twegen, masculine of twā (see two)