gemel

G2E1M3E1L1
/ˈd͡ʒɛməl/

noun

A twin (also attributively).

OriginMiddle English gemow ← Old French gemel ← Latin gemellus →
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Meanings

noungemel (plural gemels)

plural gemels · alternative gemmel

  1. archaicA twin (also attributively).

    half a million which Demon considered henceforth as a loan his cousin should certainly refund him if sanity counted for something on this gemel planet.

    1969, Vladimir Nabokov, Ada or Ardor, Penguin, published 2011, page 197
  2. governmentOne of a pair of small bars placed together.

    two gemells silver between two griffins passant

    1698, John Strype, Life of the learned Sir Thomas Smith
  3. historicalA finger ring which splits into two horizontally.
  4. A pair of trees that fuse together, or are contained in the same trunk.
adjectivegemel (not comparable)

alternative gemmel

  1. not comparablegovernmentCoupled; paired.

    A bar gemel / Two bars gemels, or two barrulets placed near and parallel to each other.

Origin

  1. Latingemellus
  2. Old Frenchgemel
  3. Middle Englishgemow
  4. Englishgemel

From Middle English gemow, from Old French gemel, from Latin gemellus, diminutive of geminus (“twin”). The modern form is influenced by the Latin etymon.

More words from Middle English, Old French, Latin

Full word history & related roots →
Cite this entry
APA

gemel. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/gemel

MLA

“gemel.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/gemel. Accessed November 3, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “gemel,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/gemel.

Source: gemel on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.