bilingual adj.

word-forming element meaning "two, having two, twice, double, doubly, twofold, once every two," etc., from Latin bi- "twice, double," from Old Latin dvi- (cognate with Sanskrit dvi-, Greek di-, dis-, Old English twi-, German zwei- "twice, double"), from PIE root *dwo- "two."

Nativized from 16c. Occasionally bin- before vowels; this form originated in French, not Latin, and might be partly based on or influenced by Latin bini "twofold" (see binary). In chemical terms, it denotes two parts or equivalents of the substance referred to. Cognate with twi- and di- (1).

"of or pertaining to the tongue," 1640s, from Medieval Latin lingualis "of the tongue," from Latin lingua "tongue," also "speech, language," from Old Latin dingua, from PIE *dnghu- "tongue" (source also of Old English tunge "tongue;" see tongue (n.)). Altered in Latin probably in part by association with lingere "to lick." Earlier "tongue-shaped" (c. 1400).