duplex

[doo-pleks, dyoo-] /ˈdu plɛks, ˈdyu-/
noun
3.
paper or cardboard having different colors, finishes, or stocks on opposite sides.
4.
Printing.
  1. a method of reproducing an illustration using two halftone plates, one black and the other in a color.
  2. a printing press equipped to print both sides of a sheet in one pass.
5.
Genetics. a double-stranded region of DNA.
adjective
6.
having two parts; double; twofold.
7.
(of a machine) having two identical working units, operating together or independently, in a single framework or assembly.
8.
pertaining to or noting a telecommunications system, as most telephone systems, permitting the simultaneous transmission of two messages in opposite directions over one channel.
verb (used with object)
9.
to make duplex; make or change into a duplex:
Many owners are duplexing their old houses for extra income.
Origin
1810-20; < Latin: twofold, double, equivalent to du(o) two + -plex -plex
Related forms
duplexity, noun
Examples from the web for duplex
  • Carotid duplex is an ultrasound test that shows how well blood is flowing through the carotid arteries.
  • So a better option is duplex printing: printing at full size, on both sides of each sheet.
  • We went to his home, half a duplex of company housing, within earshot of the howling well fires.
  • Then came duplex penthouses, which meant there could be more apartments with a link to the top.
  • There's privacy here in the nooks and crannies of the duplex interior.
  • The owner duplex is located on the second and third floor.
British Dictionary definitions for duplex

duplex

/ˈdjuːplɛks/
noun
1.
(US & Canadian) a duplex apartment or house
2.
a double-stranded region in a nucleic acid molecule
adjective
3.
having two parts
4.
(machinery) having pairs of components of independent but identical function
5.
permitting the transmission of simultaneous signals in both directions in a radio, telecommunications, or computer channel
Derived Forms
duplexity, noun
Word Origin
C19: from Latin: twofold, from duo two + -plex-fold
Word Origin and History for duplex
adj.

1817, "composed of two parts," from Latin duplex, from duo "two" (see two) + -plex, from Greek plax (genitive plakos) "flat surface." The noun sense of "house for two families; two-story apartment" is American English, 1922.

duplex in Technology
communications
Used to describe a communications channel that can carry signals in both directions, in contrast to a simplex channel which only ever carries a signal in one direction.
If signals can only flow in one direction at a time the communications is "half-duplex", like a single-lane road with traffic lights at each end. Walkie-talkies with a "press-to-talk" button provide half-duplex communications.
If signals can flow in both directions simultaneously the communications is "full-duplex", like a normal two-lane road. Telephones provide full-duplex communications.
The term "duplex" was first used in wireless, telegraph, and telephone communications. Nearly all communications circuits used by computers are two-way, so the term is seldom used.
(https://cit.ac.nz/smac/dc100www/dc_014.htm).
(2001-07-21)