dois (Portuguese)
Where does "dois" come from?
The Portuguese word 'dois' traces its roots back to the Proto-Indo-European *dwóh₁, a term created to count in pairs. This ancient word moved through Proto-Italic and Latin as 'duōs' before evolving into the Old Galician-Portuguese 'dous'. Over time, this evolved into the modern form we recognize today as the standard word for the number two.
Full etymology tree
- dois (Portuguese), 'two (cardinal number 2)'
- inherited dous (Old Galician-Portuguese), 'two (2)'
- inherited duōs (Latin), 'accusative masculine of duo'
- inherited *duō (Proto-Italic), 'two'
- inherited *dwóh₁ (Proto-Indo-European), 'two'
- inherited *duō (Proto-Italic), 'two'
- inherited duōs (Latin), 'accusative masculine of duo'
- inherited dous (Old Galician-Portuguese), 'two (2)'
Ancestors
- dous (Old Galician-Portuguese)
- duo (Latin)
- *duō (Proto-Italic)
- *dwóh₁ (Proto-Indo-European)
Descendants and derived words
- a dois tempos (Portuguese)
- dois-amores (Portuguese)
- dois-irmãos (Portuguese)
- Dois Irmãos (Portuguese)
- Dois Lajeados (Portuguese)
- dois pesos (Portuguese)
- dois pesos, duas medidas (Portuguese)
- dois-pontos (Portuguese)
- Dois Vizinhos (Portuguese)
- duas cabeças pensam melhor do que uma (Portuguese)
- em dois toques (Portuguese)
- faca de dois gumes (Portuguese)
Updated July 2026
Etymology data from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0 · About Miraris