Meanings
plural Siamese twins
- A conjoined twin; one of two people physically joined together.
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.
1857, Herman Melville, chapter XXI, in The Confidence-Man: His Masquerade1 more example
The village sign on the green depicts the Biddenden Maids, the Siamese twins Elizabeth and Mary Chulkhurst, who were born about 1135, joined at the hip and shoulder. They lived until the age of 34 when they died within a few hours of each other.
1980, AA Book of British Villages, Drive Publications Ltd, page 58 - broadlyOne of two people who are extraordinarily close, or always found together.
Didn't you hear what he said about your Lesta and the Prince — that they were as thick as butter — regular Siamese twins and you couldn't separate 'em?
- human sciencesEither 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".
Synonyms & antonyms
nounone of a pair of identical twins born with their bodies joined at some point
Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.
Origin
Chang and Eng Bunker, conjoined twins from Siam (modern Thailand), were known as the "Siamese twins".
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Danish siamesisk tvilling
- siamesisk tvillingconjoined twin
Dutch Siamese tweeling
- Siamese tweelingconjoined twin
Esperanto siama ĝemelo
- siama ĝemeloconjoined twin
Finnish siamilainen kaksonen
- siamilainen kaksonenconjoined twin
French frère siamois, sœur siamoise
- frère siamoisconjoined twin
- sœur siamoiseconjoined twin
German siamesischer Zwilling
- siamesischer Zwillingconjoined twin
Hungarian sziámi iker
- sziámi ikerconjoined twin
Indonesian kembar siam
- kembar siamconjoined twin
Japanese シャム双生児
- シャム双生児 (Shamu sōseiji)conjoined twin
Korean 샴쌍둥이
- 샴쌍둥이 (syamssangdung'i)conjoined twin
Malay kembar Siam
- kembar Siamconjoined twin
Norwegian Bokmål siamesisk tvilling
- siamesisk tvillingconjoined twin
Polish bliźnię syjamskie
- bliźnię syjamskieconjoined twin
Portuguese gémeo siamês, gêmeo siamês
- gémeo siamêsconjoined twin
- gêmeo siamêsconjoined twin
Romanian geamăn siamez, geamănă siameză
- geamăn siamezconjoined twin
- geamănă siamezăconjoined twin
Russian сиа́мский близне́ц
- сиа́мский близне́ц (siámskij bliznéc)conjoined twin
Spanish siamés
- siamésconjoined twin
Swedish siamesisk tvilling
- siamesisk tvillingconjoined twin
Thai แฝดสยาม
- แฝดสยามconjoined twin
Turkish Siyam ikizi, yapışık ikiz
- Siyam ikiziconjoined twin
- yapışık ikizconjoined twin
- Siyamlı ikizconjoined twin
Cite this entry
Siamese twin. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Siamese%20twin
“Siamese twin.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Siamese%20twin. Accessed November 4, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “Siamese twin,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Siamese%20twin.
Source: Siamese twin on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.