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Origin and history of duet

duet(n.)

"musical composition for two voices or instruments," 1740, from French duet, from Italian duetto "short musical composition for two voices," diminutive of duo "two" (from PIE root *dwo- "two"). The Italian form of the noun was used in English from c. 1724. As a verb, "to perform a duet," from 1822. Duettino "short, unpretentious duet" is by 1839.

also from 1740

Entries linking to duet

*dwo-

Proto-Indo-European root meaning "two."

It might form all or part of: anadiplosis; balance; barouche; between; betwixt; bezel; bi-; binary; bis-; biscuit; combination; combine; deuce; deuterium; Deuteronomy; di- (1) "two, double, twice;" dia-; dichotomy; digraph; dimity; diode; diphthong; diploid; diploma; diplomacy; diplomat; diplomatic; diplodocus; double; doublet; doubloon; doubt; dozen; dual; dubious; duet; duo; duodecimal; duplex; duplicate; duplicity; dyad; epididymis; hendiadys; pinochle; praseodymium; redoubtable; twain; twelfth; twelve; twenty; twi-; twice; twig; twilight; twill; twin; twine; twist; 'twixt; two; twofold; zwieback.

It might also be the source of: Sanskrit dvau, Avestan dva, Greek duo, Latin duo, Old Welsh dou, Lithuanian dvi, Old Church Slavonic duva, Old English twa, twegen, German zwei, Gothic twai "two;" first element in Hittite ta-ugash "two years old."

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    couple
    late 13c., "two of the same kind or class connected or considered together," especially "a man and a woman associated together by marriage or love," from Old French cople "married couple, lovers" (12c., Modern French couple), from Latin copula "tie, connection," from PIE *ko-ap-,
    pair
    mid-13c., paire, "a set of two, two of a kind coupled in use," from Old French paire "pair, couple," and directly from Medieval Latin paria "equals," neuter plural of Latin par (genitive paris) "a pair, counterpart, equal," noun use of par (adj.) "equal, equal-sized, well-matched
    twain
    Old English twegen "two" (masc. nominative and accusative), from Proto-Germanic *twa- "two," from PIE root *dwo- "two." It corresponds to Old Frisian twene, Dutch twee, Old High German zwene, Danish tvende. The word outlasted the breakdown of gender in Middle English and survived
    brace
    early 14c., "piece of armor for the arms," also "thong, strap for fastening," from Old French brace "arms," also "length measured by two arms" (12c., Modern French bras "arm, power;" brasse "fathom, armful, breaststroke"), from Latin bracchia, plural of bracchium "an arm, a forea
    span
    [distance between two objects] Middle English spanne, a unit of length, from Old English span "distance between the thumb and the middle or little finger of an extended hand" (as a measure of length, roughly nine inches), probably related to Middle Dutch spannen "to join, fasten,
    yoke
    Old English geoc "contrivance for fastening a pair of draft animals," earlier geoht "pair of draft animals" (especially oxen), from Proto-Germanic *yukam (source also of Old Saxon juk, Old Norse ok, Danish aag, Middle Dutch joc, Dutch juk, Old High German joh, German joch, Gothic
    brood
    Old English brod "offspring of egg-laying animals, hatchlings, young birds hatched in one nest," from Proto-Germanic *brod (source also of Middle Dutch broet, Old High German bruot, German Brut "brood"), etymologically "that which is hatched by heat," from *bro- "to warm, heat,"
    kangaroo
    "large marsupial mammal of Australia," 1770, used by Capt. Cook and botanist Joseph Banks (who first reported the species to Europeans), supposedly representing a native word from northeast Queensland, Australia, but often said to be unknown now in any native language. However, a
    shebang
    1862 (Whitman), "hut, shed, shelter," American English slang, popularized among soldiers in the U.S. Civil War, but like much of the soldier's slang (e.g. skedaddle, shoddy), it is of uncertain origin. Perhaps it is an alteration of shebeen (q.v.), but shebang meaning "tavern," a

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