Twelfth Night. That which brought the Christmas holidays and festivities to a close in former days. In the morning the people went to church to celebrate the Feast of the Epiphany, afterwards they gave themselves up right merrily to indoor amusements.
Twickenham. When Pope resided in this pretty up-river village its name was “Twitnam” for short, but it meant the same as of yore, a hamlet located between two rivulets of the Thames. The word is Anglo-Saxon, cognate with the modern German zwischen, between, and heim, a home.
Twill. From the German zwillich, “trellis work,” so called from the diagonal ribs distinguished on the surface of this cloth.
Two Fours. The 44th Regiment of Foot.
Two Sevens. The 77th Regiment of Foot.
Two Twos. The 22nd Regiment of Foot.
Tyburn. A corruption of Twa-burne, “two streams,” the one from Bayswater, the other from Kilburn, which met on the spot where the public executions formerly took place and the Marble Arch now stands.
Tyne. Another variant of the Celtic tain, river.
U
Uisquebaugh. From uisge, water, and beatha, life, the national drink of the Irish people. Out of this we have derived the English term “Whisky.”