A boublet is a type of linguistic phenomenon where a single word or root has two distinct forms or variants that have developed over time, often due to borrowing from another language or through phonetic evolution. These forms typically exist in the same language and may have different meanings or usages. An example of a boublet in English is the word "royal," which comes from the Old French "reial," and its variant "regal," which comes from the Latin "regalis."