sixteen

Pronunciation

• IPA: /ˌsɪkˈstiːn/^[1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Middle English sixtene, inherited from Old English sixtȳne, also siextīene,^[2][3][4] from siex (“six”) (see six) and -tȳne, from tȳn (“ten”) (see -teen and ten).^[2][3] Similar formations are Old Frisian sextine, Middle Dutch sestien, Dutch zestien, German sechzehn, Old High German sehszehan and Old Norse sextan.^[2][3] From the contracted form Latin sedecim come Italian sedici and French seize.^[2]

Earliest recorded meaning

The number, used with a noun: before 900.^[5] The abstract number is from about 1055.^[5]

Semantic evolution

Sixteen without a following noun is from before 1225,^[5] and sixteen years of age from 1607.^[5] It also meant sixteenth (about 1400, now obsolete),^[5] a sheet folded into sixteen leaves (about 1606),^[5] and, in the plural, a kind of ale (1584).^[5] In western Scotland sixteen hundred was a fine quality of linen,^[6] and in west Durham a sixteen was a slate one foot ten inches long.^[6]

Timeline

• before 900 – sixteen (with a noun).^[5]
• c. 1055 – the abstract number.^[5]
• before 1225 – sixteen alone.^[5]
• 1584 – sixteens, a kind of ale.^[5]
• 1607 – sixteen years of age.^[5]

Modern meaning

Noun

1. The cardinal number equal to fifteen plus one.
2. A numeral, such as 16 or XVI, representing this number.
3. (music) The numeral 16 as the lower figure of a time signature, showing that the beat is measured in semiquavers.
4. The 16th in a set or sequence.

Determiner

1. Amounting to sixteen: sixteen tons.

Word family

• sixteenth
• sixteenmo
• sixteenpenny

Related words

• six
• ten
• -teen

References

1. ^ Jones, Daniel (2011), Cambridge English Pronouncing Dictionary, 18th ed., ed. Peter Roach, Jane Setter and John Esling, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press
2. ^ a b c d Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
3. ^ a b c 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 d e f g h i j k l Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press
6. ^ a b 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)