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tenfold

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Etymology and origin of the English word tenfold

Confidence
Established
Formation
Inherited
First attested
Old English
Inherited from
Old English tienfeald via Middle English

Pronunciation

  • US: /ˈtɛnfoʊld/[1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Middle English tenfold, also tenfolde and early tenfealde,[2] inherited from Old English tīenfeald,[3][4][5] equivalent to ten and -fold.[4][6] The Middle English Dictionary gives the Old English forms as tīnfeald and tēonfeald, with the Middle English numeral ten.[2]

Earliest recorded meaning

Ten times as great or as much: the Old English adjective meant tenfold.[5] In Middle English the Middle English Dictionary first records it about 1175 in the Bodley Homilies, of a number multiplied by ten;[2] the OED's first quotation is from about 1200, in the Trinity College Homilies.[3] Merriam-Webster Unabridged dates the word to before the 12th century.[6]

Semantic evolution

Besides "multiplied by ten", Middle English used it for "consisting of ten parts, having ten aspects".[2][4] From the start it could also mean, loosely, many times as great.[3] The adverb, ten times, is recorded from 1538, in Elyot's Dictionary.[3][4] Johnson defined the adjective as "ten times increased", quoting Milton's "fire kindled into tenfold rage".[7] Later uses include a near-noun a tenfold (1769), tenfold for ranged ten deep (1807, in Joel Barlow's Columbiad), and a verb, to increase ten times (1858).[3]

Timeline

  • c. 1175 – multiplied by ten.[2]
  • c. 1200 – ten times as great or as much.[3]
  • 1538 – adverb, ten times.[3] Etymonline dates the adverb to the 1530s.[4]
  • 1769 – used as a noun after a verb, like hundredfold.[3]
  • 1807 – ranged ten deep.[3]
  • 1858 – verb, to increase ten times.[3]

Meanings

Adjective

  1. Ten times as great, as much or as many: a tenfold rise in prices.[8][6][3]
  2. Made up of ten parts or having ten aspects.[8][6][2]

Adverb

  1. By ten times as much or as many: Sales grew tenfold in a year.[8][6][3]

References

  1. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f Kurath, Hans; Kuhn, Sherman M.; Lewis, Robert E., eds. (1952–2001), Middle English Dictionary, Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press; online edition ed. Frances McSparran et al. (2000–2018)
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l Oxford English Dictionary Online (accessed March 2026), Oxford: Oxford University Press
  4. ^ a b c d e Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  5. ^ a b Clark Hall, J. R. (1960), A Concise Anglo-Saxon Dictionary, 4th ed., with a supplement by H. D. Meritt, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press
  6. ^ a b c d e Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
  7. ^ Johnson, Samuel (1755), A Dictionary of the English Language, London; 4th ed. 1773; Johnson's Dictionary Online, ed. Beth Rapp Young et al.
  8. ^ a b c Collins English Dictionary (2023), Glasgow: HarperCollins

Related etymologies

Cite this entry

“Tenfold.” Etymologically, 13 Nov. 2026, etymologically.com/en/tenfold. Accessed 14 Nov. 2026.

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