In 1884, Angelo Moriondo of Turin, Italy, demonstrated the first working example of an espresso machine.
PAIR
pair
(noun) a poker hand with 2 cards of the same value
pair
(noun) two people considered as a unit
pair, brace
(noun) a set of two similar things considered as a unit
couple, pair, twosome, twain, brace, span, yoke, couplet, distich, duo, duet, dyad, duad
(noun) two items of the same kind
match, mate, couple, pair, twin
(verb) bring two objects, ideas, or people together; “This fact is coupled to the other one”; “Matchmaker, can you match my daughter with a nice young man?”; “The student was paired with a partner for collaboration on the project”
copulate, mate, pair, couple
(verb) engage in sexual intercourse; “Birds mate in the Spring”
pair, geminate
(verb) arrange in pairs; “Pair these numbers”
pair, geminate
(verb) occur in pairs
pair, pair off, partner off, couple
(verb) form a pair or pairs; “The two old friends paired off”
Source: WordNet® 3.1
Etymology 1
Noun
pair (plural pairs or pair)
Two similar or identical things taken together; often followed by of.
Two people in a relationship, partnership or friendship.
Used with binary nouns (often in the plural to indicate multiple instances, since such nouns are plural only, except in some technical contexts)
A couple of working animals attached to work together, as by a yoke.
(cards) A poker hand that contains two cards of identical rank, which cannot also count as a better hand.
(cricket) A score of zero runs (a duck) in both innings of a two-innings match.
Synonyms: pair of spectacles, spectacles
(baseball, informal) A double play, two outs recorded in one play.
(baseball, informal) A doubleheader, two games played on the same day between the same teams
(rowing) A boat for two sweep rowers.
(slang) A pair of breasts
(Australia, politics) The exclusion of one member of a parliamentary party from a vote, if a member of the other party is absent for important personal reasons.
Two members of opposite parties or opinion, as in a parliamentary body, who mutually agree not to vote on a given question, or on issues of a party nature during a specified time.
(archaic) A number of things resembling one another, or belonging together; a set.
(kinematics) In a mechanism, two elements, or bodies, which are so applied to each other as to mutually constrain relative motion; named in accordance with the motion it permits, as in turning pair, sliding pair, twisting pair.
Usage notes
In older texts like "A Key to Joyce's Arithmetic" (1808), the plural form for the word pair is pair, but the tendency, these days, is to use the form pairs to mark plurality. That is, a native English speaker, back in the early 19th century, would say 20 pair of shoes, as opposed to today's 20 pairs of shoes. But still, both forms are correct, even though the former is quite archaic.
Synonyms
• (two objects in a group): duo, dyad, couple, brace, twosome, duplet; see also duo
• (pair of breasts): See also breasts
Verb
pair (third-person singular simple present pairs, present participle pairing, simple past and past participle paired)
(transitive) To group into one or more sets of two.
(transitive) To bring two (animals, notably dogs) together for mating.
(politics, slang) To engage (oneself) with another of opposite opinions not to vote on a particular question or class of questions.
(intransitive) To suit; to fit, as a counterpart.
Etymology 2
Verb
pair (third-person singular simple present pairs, present participle pairing, simple past and past participle paired)
(obsolete, transitive) To impair, to make worse.
(obsolete, intransitive) To become worse, to deteriorate.
Anagrams
• PIRA, RIPA, pari-, raip
Proper noun
Pair (plural Pairs)
A surname.
Statistics
• According to the 2010 United States Census, Pair is the 14050th most common surname in the United States, belonging to 2143 individuals. Pair is most common among White (71.68%) and Black/African American (20.07%) individuals.
Anagrams
• PIRA, RIPA, pari-, raip
Source: Wiktionary
Pair, n. Etym: [F. paire, LL. paria, L. paria, pl. of par pair, fr. par, adj., equal. Cf. Apparel, Par equality, Peer an equal.]
1. A number of things resembling one another, or belonging together; a set; as, a pair or flight of stairs. "A pair of beads." Chaucer. Beau. & Fl. "Four pair of stairs." Macaulay.
Note: [Now mostly or quite disused, except as to stairs.] Two crowns in my pocket, two pair of cards. Beau. & Fl.
2. Two things of a kind, similar in form, suited to each other, and intended to be used together; as, a pair of gloves or stockings; a pair of shoes.
3. Two of a sort; a span; a yoke; a couple; a brace; as, a pair of horses; a pair of oxen.
4. A married couple; a man and wife. "A happy pair." Dryden. "The hapless pair." Milton.
5. A single thing, composed of two pieces fitted to each other and used together; as, a pair of scissors; a pair of tongs; a pair of bellows.
6. Two members of opposite parties or opinion, as in a parliamentary body, who mutually agree not to vote on a given question, or on issues of a party nature during a specified time; as, there were two pairs on the final vote. [Parliamentary Cant]
7. (Kinematics)
Definition: In a mechanism, two elements, or bodies, which are so applied to each other as to mutually constrain relative motion.
Note: Pairs are named in accordance with the kind of motion they permit; thus, a journal and its bearing form a turning pair, a cylinder and its piston a sliding pair, a screw and its nut a twisting pair, etc. Any pair in which the constraining contact is along lines or at points only (as a cam and roller acting together), is designated a higher pair; any pair having constraining surfaces which fit each other (as a cylindrical pin and eye, a screw and its nut, etc.), is called a lower pair. Pair royal (pl. Pairs Royal) three things of a sort; -- used especially of playing cards in some games, as cribbage; as three kings, three "eight spots" etc. Four of a kind are called a double pair royal. "Something in his face gave me as much pleasure as a pair royal of naturals in my own hand." Goldsmith. "That great pair royal of adamantine sisters [the Fates]." Quarles. [Written corruptly parial and prial.]
Syn.
– Pair, Flight, Set. Originally, pair was not confined to two things, but was applied to any number of equal things (pares), that go together. Ben Jonson speaks of a pair (set) of chessmen; also, he and Lord Bacon speak of a pair (pack) of cards. A "pair of stairs" is still in popular use, as well as the later expression, "flight of stairs."
Pair, v. i. [imp. & p. p. Paired; p. pr. & vb. n. Pairing.]
1. To be joined in paris; to couple; to mate, as for breeding.
2. To suit; to fit, as a counterpart. My heart was made to fit and pair with thine. Rowe.
3. Same as To pair off. See phrase below. To pair off, to separate from a company in pairs or couples; specif. (Parliamentary Cant), to agree with one of the opposite party or opinion to abstain from voting on specified questions or issues. See Pair, n., 6.
Pair, v. t.
1. To unite in couples; to form a pair of; to bring together, as things which belong together, or which complement, or are adapted to one another. Glossy jet is paired with shining white. Pope.
2. To engage (one's self) with another of opposite opinions not to vote on a particular question or class of questions. [Parliamentary Cant] Paired fins. (Zoöl.) See under Fin.
Pair, v. t. Etym: [See Impair.]
Definition: To impair. [Obs.] Spenser.
Source: Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary 1913 Edition
Word of the Day
17 November 2024
MONASTICISM
(noun) asceticism as a form of religious life; usually conducted in a community under a common rule and characterized by celibacy and poverty and obedience
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