Etymologically
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twelfth

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Pronunciation

  • /twɛlfθ/ [tʰw̥ɛɫfθ], /twɛlθ/ [tʰw̥ɛɤθ][1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Middle English twelfthe, an alteration of earlier twelfte,[2][3][4][5] inherited from Old English twelfta,[6][3][7][8][9] inherited from Proto-Germanic *twaliftô,[1] from twelf (“twelve”) and the ordinal suffix -ta.[6][5][10] In southern Middle English of the 14th century twelft took a final “-th” after fourth and similar ordinals, but forms without it survive in various dialects.[6][3] Its cognates include Old Frisian twilifta, Dutch twaalfde, Old High German zwelifto, German zwölfte and Old Norse tólfti,[6][4][7][3] and Holthausen compares Lithuanian dvyliktas (“twelfth”).[9]

Earliest recorded meaning

The ordinal of twelve, next after the eleventh: in Old English, in the Old English Martyrology for December.[6] Ælfric's Grammar gives se twelfta for Latin duodecimus.[8]

Semantic evolution

Old English already had the feast names: twelftan niht, the eve of Epiphany, twelve days after Christmas, later a time of merrymaking,[3] and twelftadæg, Twelfth Day, with the eve of the Epiphany named in the Chronicle for 1066.[11][8] Merriam-Webster records Twelfth alone, capitalized, for the Epiphany, shortened from Middle English twelfte day.[5] As a noun meaning one of twelve equal parts the word dates from 1557, in Robert Recorde (the 1550s in Etymonline), and the adjective in this sense from 1590.[6][3] In music a twelfth is an interval of an octave and a fifth (1597, Thomas Morley) and an organ stop sounding at that interval (1613).[6] In Britain the Twelfth is 12 August, when grouse shooting begins (1816, Walter Scott), and in Northern Ireland 12 July, when Protestants celebrate the Battle of the Boyne (1896);[6] the English Dialect Dictionary records the Ulster use.[12] In cricket the twelfth man, a reserve to the eleven, is recorded from 1876.[6]

Timeline

  • Old English – twelfta, in the Old English Martyrology.[6]
  • 1066 – the eve of Twelfth Day, in the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle.[11]
  • 14th century – the spelling twelfth in southern Middle English.[6]
  • 1557 – noun, one of twelve equal parts.[6]
  • 1597 – music, the interval of a twelfth.[6]
  • 1613 – an organ stop.[6]
  • 1816 – the Twelfth, 12 August.[6]
  • 1876 – cricket, the twelfth man.[6]
  • 1896 – the Twelfth, 12 July in Northern Ireland.[6]

Meanings

Adjective

  1. Coming next after the eleventh in a series; the ordinal of twelve: the twelfth chapter.[13][5][6]
  2. Being one of twelve equal parts: a twelfth share.[5][13]

Noun

  1. One of twelve equal parts of something.[13][5][6]
  2. The twelfth person or thing in a series, especially the twelfth day of a month: The meeting is on the twelfth.[13][5]
  3. (music) An interval of an octave and a fifth; also, an organ stop sounding a twelfth above the normal pitch.[6]
  4. the Twelfth: in Britain, 12 August, the start of the grouse season; in Northern Ireland, 12 July, the anniversary of the Battle of the Boyne.[6][12]
  5. (usually capitalized) Epiphany, Twelfth Day.[5][8]

Word family

  • Twelfthtide
  • Twelfth Day
  • Twelfth Night

References

  1. ^ a b Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (online 2024), 5th ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
  3. ^ a b c d e f Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  4. ^ a b Klein, Ernest. A Comprehensive Etymological Dictionary of the English Language. 2 vols. Amsterdam: Elsevier, 1966–1967.
  5. ^ a b c d e f g h Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
  6. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u Oxford English Dictionary Online (accessed March 2026), Oxford: Oxford University Press
  7. ^ a b Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press
  8. ^ a b c d Bosworth, Joseph; Toller, T. Northcote (1898), An Anglo-Saxon Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press; Toller, T. Northcote (1921), Supplement
  9. ^ a b Holthausen, Ferdinand (1934), Altenglisches etymologisches Wörterbuch, Heidelberg: Carl Winter
  10. ^ Dictionary.com Unabridged (2016), based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, New York: Random House
  11. ^ 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
  12. ^ 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)
  13. ^ a b c d Collins English Dictionary (2023), Glasgow: HarperCollins