pairwise

P3A1I1R1W4I1S1E1
UK/ˈpɛə.waɪz/Canada, US/ˈpɛɹ.waɪz/Australia/ˈpeː.wɑez/New Zealand/ˈpeə.wɑez/

adjective

Occurring in pairs; two at a time.

“They proceeded to make pairwise comparisons.”

OriginProto-Germanic *wīsaz ← Proto-Indo-European *weyd-s-ós ← English pair →
Less commonScrabble 13
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Meanings

adjectivepairwise (not comparable)

alternative pair-wise

  1. not comparableOccurring in pairs; two at a time.

    They proceeded to make pairwise comparisons.

adverbpairwise (not comparable)

alternative pair-wise

  1. not comparableIn or by pairs.

Origin

  1. Englishpair
  2. Proto-Indo-European*weyd-
  3. Proto-Indo-European*wéydos
  4. Proto-Indo-European*weyd-s-ós
  5. Proto-Germanic*wīsaz
  6. Englishpairwise

From pair + -wise.

Full word history & related roots →

Translations

Danish parvis
  • parvisoccurring in pairs
Dutch paarsgewijs
  • paarsgewijsoccurring in pairs
Esperanto pare
  • pareoccurring in pairs
Finnish parittainen
  • parittainenoccurring in pairs
French deux à deux
  • deux à deuxoccurring in pairs
German paarweise, paarig
  • paarweiseoccurring in pairs
  • paarigoccurring in pairs
Italian due a due, coppia a coppia
  • due a dueoccurring in pairs
  • coppia a coppiaoccurring in pairs
Cite this entry
APA

pairwise. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/pairwise

MLA

“pairwise.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/pairwise. Accessed November 2, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “pairwise,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/pairwise.

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