duple

Etymology

PIE word *dwóh₁ From Latin duplus (“twofold, double”). Attested since the 16th century. Doublet of double and doppio.

adj

1. (rare) Double.
2. (of time or music) Having two beats, or a multiple of two beats, in each measure.
3. (poetry) Having two beats in each foot.
   McGonagall is earnestly trying to gather the resources of a metrical tradition, not subvert it, but the mismatch of duple and triple measure in the first line alone means that, while it’s made of recognisable metrical feet, the line doesn’t feel like it belongs to any specific metrical pattern (iambic, dactylic, anapestic etc) or mode (pastoral, elegy or ballad). 2015, Ben Lerner, “Diary”, in London Review of Books, volume 38, number 12