fifteen

Pronunciation

• IPA: /ˈfɪf.tiːn/, /fɪfˈtiːn/^[1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Old English fīftīene, fīftēne, fīftȳne,^[2][3][4] from fīf, five, and -tēne, -tȳne, -teen, from tēn, ten.^[2][5] It is cognate with Old Frisian fiftine, Old Saxon fiftein, Dutch vijftien, Old High German finfzehan (German fünfzehn), Old Norse fimtān and Gothic fimftaihun.^[2][5]

Earliest recorded meaning

The number: about 725, in Beowulf, in Barnhart;^[2] before 1000 in the OED.^[6]

Semantic evolution

In English history, a fifteen was a tax of one fifteenth on personal property, now obsolete (1494).^[6] A side of fifteen players at Rugby football is from 1878.^[6][5] The Fifteen is the Jacobite rising of 1715,^[7] and in Scotland the judges of the Court of Session.^[8]

Timeline

• c. 725 – fiftēne, in Beowulf.^[2]
• 1494 – a tax of a fifteenth (obsolete).^[6]
• 1878 – a Rugby side.^[6]

Modern meaning

Numeral

1. The cardinal number that is ten plus five.
2. (rugby union) A team of fifteen players.

Word family

• fifteenth

Related words

• five
• -teen
• ten

References

1. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
3. ^ Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
4. ^ Pearsall, Judy, ed. (1998), The New Oxford Dictionary of English, Oxford: Clarendon Press
5. ^ a b c Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
6. ^ a b c d e Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press
7. ^ Collins English Dictionary (2023), Glasgow: HarperCollins
8. ^ Wright, Joseph, ed. (1898–1905), The English Dialect Dictionary, 6 vols., Oxford: Henry Frowde; via EDD Online 4.0, University of Innsbruck (CC BY 4.0)