different between ambiguous vs double

English

Etymology

From Latin ambiguus (“moving from side to side, of doubtful nature”), from ambigere (“to go about, wander, doubt”), from ambi- (“around, about, on both sides”) + agere (“to drive, move”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /æm?b??ju?s/

Adjective

ambiguous (comparative more ambiguous, superlative most ambiguous)

1. Open to multiple interpretations.

   Synonym: equivocal

   Antonym: unambiguous

2. (obsolete, of persons) Hesitant; uncertain; not taking sides.
   • 1662 Thomas Salusbury

     And forasmuch as in this same question I am ambiguous, and Simplicius is resolute....

Related terms

• ambages
• ambiguity
• ambiguate
• ambiguation
• disambiguation

Translations

See also

• contradictory
• mistakable
• confusing

Further reading

• ambiguous in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, G. & C. Merriam, 1913.
• ambiguous in The Century Dictionary, New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., 1911.

References

• John A. Simpson and Edward S. C. Weiner, editors (1989) , “ambiguous”, in The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd edition, Oxford: Clarendon Press, ?ISBN

English

Etymology

From Middle English double, from Old French doble, double, from Latin duplus (“twofold”). Doublet of doppio and duple.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /?d?b.?l/, [?d?b.?]
• Rhymes: -?b?l

Adjective

double (not comparable)

1. Made up of two matching or complementary elements.
2. Of twice the quantity.

3. Of a family relationship, related on both the maternal and paternal sides of a family.

4. Designed for two users.

5. Folded in two; composed of two layers.
6. Stooping; bent over.
7. Having two aspects; ambiguous.

8. False, deceitful, or hypocritical.
   • c. 1515–1516, published 1568, John Skelton, Again?t venemous tongues enpoy?oned with ?claunder and fal?e detractions &c.:

     A fals double tunge is more fiers and fell
     Then Cerberus the cur couching in the kenel of hel;
     Wherof hereafter, I thinke for to write,
     Of fals double tunges in the di?pite.

9. Of flowers, having more than the normal number of petals.
10. (music) Of an instrument, sounding an octave lower.

11. (music) Of time, twice as fast.

Synonyms

• (made up of two matching or complementary elements): binary, twin; see also Thesaurus:dual
• (twice the quantity): duplicate, twofold; see also Thesaurus:twofold
• (having two aspects): twofold

Antonyms

• (made up of two matching or complementary elements): half
• (of twice the quantity): half

Derived terms

Translations

See also

Adverb

double (not comparable)

1. Twice over; twofold; doubly.
   • February 7 1736, Jonathan Swift, letter to Alexander Pope

     I was double their age.

2. Two together; two at a time. (especially in see double)

Synonyms

• (twice over): doubly; see also Thesaurus:twice

Noun

double (plural doubles)

1. Twice the number, amount, size, etc.
2. A person who resembles and stands in for another person, often for safety purposes

   Saddam Hussein was rumored to have many doubles.

3. A drink with two portions of alcohol.

   On second thought, make that a double.

4. A ghostly apparition of a living person; a doppelgänger.
5. A sharp turn, especially a return on one's own tracks.
6. A redundant item for which an identical item already exists.

   I have more than 200 stamps in my collection but they're not all unique: some are doubles.

   Before printing the photos, Liam deleted the doubles.

7. (baseball) A two-base hit.

   The catcher hit a double to lead off the ninth.

8. (bridge) A call that increases certain scoring points if the last preceding bid becomes the contract.
9. (billiards) A strike in which the object ball is struck so as to make it rebound against the cushion to an opposite pocket.
10. A bet on two horses in different races in which any winnings from the first race are placed on the horse in the later race.
11. (darts) The narrow outermost ring on a dartboard.
12. (darts) A hit on this ring.
13. (dominoes) A tile that has the same value (i.e., the same number of pips) on both sides.
14. (computing, programming) A double-precision floating-point number.

    The sine function returns a double.

15. (soccer) Two competitions, usually one league and one cup, won by the same team in a single season.
16. (rowing) A boat for two scullers.
17. (sports) The feat of scoring twice in one game.
18. (sports, chiefly swimming and track) The feat of winning two events in a single meet or competition.

    In 1996, Michael Johnson achieved a double by winning both the 200 and 400 meter dashes.

19. (historical) A former French coin worth one-sixth of a sou.
20. (historical, Guernsey) A copper coin worth one-eighth of a penny.
    • 1974, GB Edwards, The Book of Ebenezer Le Page, New York 2007, page 196:

      As for doubles, they are not worth anything now; and I have still got an egg-cupful my mother used to keep handy to give the baker change from a farthing.

21. (music) Playing the same part on two instruments, alternately.
22. (Christianity) A double feast.
23. Synonym of double-quick (“fast marching pace”)

Derived terms

• at the double
• body double
• daily double
• double-count
• on the double
• quintuple double
• see double
• stunt double

Translations

Verb

double (third-person singular simple present doubles, present participle doubling, simple past and past participle doubled)

1. (transitive) To multiply by two.

2. (intransitive) To increase by 100%, to become twice as large in size.

3. To be the double of; to exceed by twofold; to contain or be worth twice as much as.
4. (transitive) To fold over so as to make two folds.

5. (transitive) (sometimes followed by up) To clench (a fist).
6. (baseball) To get a two-base hit.

7. (transitive) (often followed by together or up) To join or couple.
8. (transitive) To repeat exactly; copy.
9. (transitive with as) To serve a second role or have a second purpose.

10. (transitive, intransitive, sometimes with "for") To act as substitute for (another theatrical performer in a certain role, etc).
    • 1801 (1803), Francis William Blagdon, Paris as it was and as it is, II, xli, 60:

      Laforêt, who (as the French express it), doubles Lainez, that is, performs the same characters in his absence.

    • 1814, Elizabeth Hervey, The Mourtray Family, Third Edition, page 31:

      […] and when she attempted to double the part of her mother, she equally failed in playing the great or agreeable lady.

11. (theater) To play (both one part and another, in the same play, etc).
    • 1878, lady Isabella Emma E. Schuster, Hands Not Hearts, page 141:

      When, therefore, Briggs, the sedate, middle-aged individual, who in the Markham household doubles the roles of butler and valet, makes his appearance, his master affects to be in a great hurry, looks at his watch, and says : […]

    • 1916, The Moving Picture World, page 335:

      Miss Theby doubles in the part of Rose and the native girl in the Philippines. This is a problem plot in which a young man leaves the girl of his choice because she has had an affair in her earlier years. He goes to the Philippines, […]

    • 1997, Roger Lewis, The Life and Death of Peter Sellers, Hal Leonard Corporation (?ISBN)

      In On the Beat he doubles the parts of a constable and a gang-leader. Norman was all over the place.

    • 2013, Hy Rothstein, Barton Whaley, The Art and Science of Military Deception, Artech House (?ISBN), page 164:

      In his case the matter is simplified by the fact that the head of his Deception Staff doubles the roles of author and producer. The Commander therefore tells him what sort of deception he needs, examines the plans produced for him […]

12. (intransitive) To turn sharply, following a winding course.
13. (nautical) To sail around (a headland or other point).

    • Sailing along the coast, he doubled the promontory of Carthage.
14. (music) To duplicate (a part) either in unison or at the octave above or below it.
15. (music, intransitive, usually followed by "on") To be capable of performing (upon an additional instrument).
16. (bridge) To make a call that will double certain scoring points if the preceding bid becomes the contract.
17. (card games, intransitive) To double down.
18. (billiards, snooker, pool) To cause (a ball) to rebound from a cushion before entering the pocket.
19. (intransitive) To go or march at twice the normal speed.
20. (transitive) To multiply the strength or effect of by two.

21. (military) To unite, as ranks or files, so as to form one from each two.
22. (radio, informal, of a station) To transmit simultaneously on the same channel as another station, either unintentionally or deliberately, causing interference.

23. (espionage, intransitive) To operate as a double agent.
    • 1973, National Lampoon (page 12)

      Was this simply the cover name of an Allied spy-code named the Brass Monkey? […] The possibility that the Brass Monkey himself was "doubling" (with headquarters' approval, of course) is too logical […]

Synonyms

• (to multiply by two): redouble; see also Thesaurus:double
• (to repeat exactly; copy): facsimilize; see also Thesaurus:duplicate

Antonyms

• (to multiply by two): halve; see also Thesaurus:bisect

Derived terms

Translations

See also

• quadruple
• quintuple
• sextuple
• single
• triple

Anagrams

• Lobedu, bouled, dobule

French

Etymology

From Old French doble, from Latin duplus.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /dubl/

Adjective

double (plural doubles)

1. double (all senses), two

2. (music) sixteenth note

Derived terms

Related terms

• doubler

Descendants

• ? Romanian: dublu

Noun

double m (plural doubles)

1. double (twice the number, amount, etc.)

2. duplicate (an identical copy)

3. (baseball) double

Verb

double

1. first-person singular present indicative of doubler
2. third-person singular present indicative of doubler
3. first-person singular present subjunctive of doubler
4. third-person singular present subjunctive of doubler
5. second-person singular imperative of doubler

Further reading

• “double” in Trésor de la langue française informatisé (The Digitized Treasury of the French Language).