Binary comes from Late Latin bīnārius ('consisting of two'), from bīnī ('two by two'), from bis ('twice'). The historical trail runs through bīnārius in Latin and bis in Latin. Used as an adjective and noun, binary now means "relating to or composed of two things or states, especially the base-2 number system", so the present definition can be read against the older forms and meanings. The same lexical family is also visible in derived forms such as binarily and binarism and related forms such as binate, bi-, and binomial. The result is a borrowed or transmitted form whose modern spelling carries a compact record of its route into English.