Meanings
adjectivetwo-edged (not comparable)
- not comparablehaving two cutting edges
- broadlynot comparablehaving two, often contrasting, meanings or interpretations
1 more example
Then there's that term 'gay'. Does that still mean all homosexual people? For some folks, as mentioned earlier, yes. For others, no. It is in reality a two-edged term. On the hand meaning all sisters and brothers, yet on the other hand sisters in the political, social, economic liberation movement, called Gay Liberation. It implies a political stand.
1973 December 1, Don McGaw, “Homosexual=Homophile=Gay=Gay Community?”, in Gay Community News, volume 1, number 24, page 4
Origin
Translations
Ancient Greek ἀμφήκης
- ἀμφήκης (amphḗkēs)having two cutting edges
Bulgarian двуостър, двусмислен
- двуостър (dvuostăr)having two cutting edges
- двусмислен (dvusmislen)having two meanings or interpretations
Danish tveægget
- tveæggethaving two cutting edges
Esperanto ambaŭtranĉa
- ambaŭtranĉahaving two cutting edges
Irish défhaobhrach
- défhaobhrachhaving two cutting edges
Māori huarua
- huaruahaving two cutting edges
Norwegian Bokmål tveegget
- tveeggethaving two cutting edges
Polish obosieczny, dwusieczny
- obosiecznyhaving two cutting edges
- dwusiecznyhaving two cutting edges
- obosiecznyhaving two meanings or interpretations
- dwusiecznyhaving two meanings or interpretations
Scottish Gaelic dà-fhaobhrach, dà-fhaobhair
- dà-fhaobhrachhaving two cutting edges
- dà-fhaobhairhaving two cutting edges
Cite this entry
APA
two-edged. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/two-edged
MLA
“two-edged.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/two-edged. Accessed November 2, 2026.
Chicago
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “two-edged,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/two-edged.
Source: two-edged on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.