twelve

Pronunciation

• IPA: /twelv/^[1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Middle English twelve, inherited from Old English twelf,^[2][3][4] from Proto-Germanic *twalif,^[2][4] a compound of *twa- “two” (see two) and *lif- “left over”, from the root of leave,^[2][3][4][5] so literally “two left over” after counting ten,^[3][2] from PIE Proto-Indo-European *dwo- (“two”) and Proto-Indo-European *leikw- (“to leave”).^[2] Old Saxon twelif, Dutch twaalf, German zwölf, Old Norse tolf and Gothic twalif are cognates,^[2][3][4] and Lithuanian dvylika, with -lika “left over”, is a parallel formation.^[2] Compare eleven.^[2][3]

Earliest recorded meaning

The number: about 888 in the OED; before 899 in Barnhart, in Alfred's translation of Boethius.^[6][3]

Semantic evolution

The modern form twelve is from about 1175.^[3][6] Twelfth replaced Old English twelfta before 1387,^[3] and Old English had twelftan niht, Twelfth Night, in 878.^[3][4] Etymonline notes twelve as the number of the Apostles, the tribes of Israel, the signs of the zodiac and the labours of Hercules.^[2] In the Bible, the Twelve are the Apostles, or the twelve Minor Prophets.^[7]

Timeline

• 878 – twelftan niht, Twelfth Night.^[3]
• c. 888 – twelf.^[6]
• c. 1175 – twelve.^[3]
• before 1387 – twelfth.^[3]

Modern meaning

Numeral

1. The number that is one more than eleven; 12.

Noun

1. A group or set of twelve; twelve o'clock, noon or midnight.
2. (the Twelve) The twelve Apostles of Jesus.

Word family

• twelfth
• twelvemo
• twelvemonth
• Twelver
• twelve-inch
• twelve-tone
• twelve-tone technique

Related words

• eleven
• two
• leave
• dozen

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 e f g h i Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
4. ^ a b c d e Hoad, T. F., ed. (1986), The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology, Oxford: Clarendon Press
5. ^ Pearsall, Judy, ed. (1998), The New Oxford Dictionary of English, Oxford: Clarendon Press
6. ^ a b c Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press
7. ^ The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (1992), 3rd ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin