Etymologically
Log in

fifteen

This is the current revision of this entry, as edited by bogdan on 16 October 2026 at 13:51. This address is a permanent link to this version.
Changes in this edit History

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

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)