Siamese twin
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English
[edit]Etymology
[edit]Chang and Eng Bunker, conjoined twins from Siam (modern Thailand), were known as the "Siamese twins".
Noun
[edit]Siamese twin (plural Siamese twins)
- A conjoined twin; one of two people physically joined together.
- 1857, Herman Melville, chapter XXI, in The Confidence-Man: His Masquerade:
- the two stood together; the old miser leaning against the herb-doctor with something of that air of trustful fraternity with which, when standing, the less strong of the Siamese twins habitually leans against the other.
- (linguistics) Either of a pair of words that occur together as an idiomatic expression or collocation, as in "hammer and sickle", "short and sweet", or "spick and span".
Usage notes
[edit]Some consider the term "Siamese twin" to be offensive, as it inordinately links Thais and Thailand to the birth defect.
Derived terms
[edit]- Siamese Twins / Siamese Twins Galaxies / Siamese Twin Galaxies / Siamese Twins Galaxy / Siamese Twin Galaxy
Translations
[edit]conjoined twin
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Further reading
[edit]- Conjoined twins on Wikipedia.Wikipedia
- Siamese twins (linguistics) on Wikipedia.Wikipedia
- Siamese twins (disambiguation) on Wikipedia.Wikipedia