Etymologically
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twelve

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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

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