docena

Forms

docena f (plural docenas)^[1] Old and Golden Age Spanish wrote dozena: Alfonso X has tres dozenas, and the spelling is still used in Mexico in 1525 and in the Quijote.^[2][3][4]

Etymology

It is inherited from Old Spanish dozena, from Old Spanish dozeno (“twelfth”): the feminine of the ordinal, used as a noun.^[1][5] The ordinal comes from doze (“twelve”), the modern doce, which continues duodecim, a compound of duo (“two”) with decem (“ten”).^[6][7] Corominas lists it among the derivatives of the numeral, and notes that in the old language the numeral always had a voiced ⟨z⟩.^[6] García de Diego also puts it with the Spanish derivatives of the Latin numeral.^[8]

The parallel words are Catalan dotzena, Occitan dotzena, French douzaine, Italian dozzina and Portuguese dúzia.^[9][1] The Italian word is a loan: Nocentini takes it from French, Wiktionary from Occitan.^[10][1] The Diccionario de Autoridades derived the Spanish word from duodēnārius through a corrupted form.^[11]

Earliest recorded meaning

Alfonso X's General Estoria (1272–1275) prescribes tres dozenas de flor de farina con cada uaca “three dozen measures of fine flour with each cow” for a sacrifice.^[2] DICCA-XV reports a first record in the CORDE in a text of 1234–1275.^[7]

Semantic evolution

Nebrija (c. 1495) gave Latin duodenarium for dozena de cosas.^[12][7] Autoridades defined it as twelve things of the same kind, and also as a weight of twelve pounds used in Navarre; it recorded meterse en docena, said of someone of lower rank who joins the conversation of his betters, with a quotation from Quevedo.^[11] Terreros (1786–1793) recorded a docenas “in great numbers” and la docena del fraile “the friar's dozen”, that is, thirteen.^[13] In 1884 the Academy added no entrar uno en docena con otros “not to be the equal of others”; by 1899 it gave the Navarrese weight in the past tense.^[14][15]

Moliner notes that docena and media docena are often used for an approximate number.^[16] The DRAE of 2001 records the docena alfarjía, a measure of timber in the pine woods of the Guadarrama.^[5] The word passed into Philippine languages, as dosena in Tagalog.^[1]

Timeline

• 1272–1275 – Alfonso X's General Estoria has tres dozenas.^[2]
• c. 1495 – Nebrija translates dozena de cosas as duodenarium.^[12]
• 1516 – first record in the Americas, in Puerto Rico.^[3]
• 1726–1739 – Autoridades records the Navarrese weight and meterse en docena.^[11]
• 1786–1793 – Terreros records la docena del fraile for thirteen.^[13]
• 1884 – the Academy adds no entrar uno en docena con otros.^[14]

Meanings

Noun

1. A dozen: a set of twelve things: una docena de rosas.^[5][1][16]
2. Loosely, about twelve, especially in media docena: Solo vinieron media docena de vecinos.^[16]
3. (historical, Navarre) A weight of twelve pounds.^[5][11]

Word family

• adocenado

Related words

• doce
• doceno
• Catalan dotzena
• French douzaine

Usage notes

Docena de fraile (humorous) is thirteen, and no entrar en docena con otros means to have nothing in common with them.^[16][14]

References

1. ^ a b c d e f g Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c Kasten, Lloyd A.; Nitti, John J.; Gago Jover, Francisco (2002–), Diccionario de la prosa castellana del Rey Alfonso X, New York: Hispanic Seminary of Medieval Studies (electronic edition 2024), p. s.v. docena
3. ^ a b Boyd-Bowman, Peter (2003), Léxico hispanoamericano 1493–1993, ed. Ray Harris-Northall and John J. Nitti, New York: Hispanic Seminary of Medieval Studies, p. s.v. docena
4. ^ Cejador y Frauca, Julio (1905–1906), La lengua de Cervantes: gramática y diccionario de la lengua castellana en El ingenioso hidalgo don Quijote de la Mancha, 2 vols., Madrid: Jaime Ratés, p. s.v. docena
5. ^ a b c d Real Academia Española (2001), Diccionario de la lengua española, 22nd ed., Madrid: Espasa-Calpe, p. s.v. docena
6. ^ a b Corominas, Joan; Pascual, José A. (1980–1991), Diccionario crítico etimológico castellano e hispánico, 6 vols., Madrid: Gredos, p. 2, 519
7. ^ a b c Lleal, Coloma (dir.), DICCA-XV: Diccionario del castellano del siglo XV en la Corona de Aragón, Barcelona: Universitat de Barcelona, Grup d'Estudis d'Història de la Llengua (GHCL), https://ghcl.ub.edu/diccaxv, p. s.v. docena
8. ^ García de Diego, Vicente (1985), Diccionario etimológico español e hispánico, 2nd ed., Madrid: Espasa-Calpe (1st ed. 1954), p. s.v. duodecim
9. ^ Echegaray, Eduardo de (1887–1889), Diccionario general etimológico de la lengua española, 5 vols., Madrid: José María Faquineto, p. s.v. docena
10. ^ Nocentini, Alberto; Parenti, Alessandro (2010), l'Etimologico: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Firenze: Le Monnier, p. s.v. dozzina
11. ^ a b c d Real Academia Española (1726–1739), Diccionario de la lengua castellana (Diccionario de Autoridades), 6 vols., Madrid: Francisco del Hierro, p. 3, 324
12. ^ a b Nebrija, Antonio de (1513), Vocabulario español-latino, Salamanca, ed. Marina Vidal Díez (2007), Biblioteca Virtual Miguel de Cervantes, p. 338
13. ^ a b Terreros y Pando, Esteban de (1786–1793), Diccionario castellano con las voces de ciencias y artes y sus correspondientes de las tres lenguas francesa, latina e italiana, 4 vols., Madrid: Viuda de Ibarra, p. 1, 696
14. ^ a b c Real Academia Española (1884), Diccionario de la lengua castellana, 12th ed., Madrid: Imprenta de D. Gregorio Hernando (the first Academy edition with etymologies), p. 396
15. ^ Real Academia Española (1899), Diccionario de la lengua castellana, 13th ed., Madrid: Imprenta de los Sres. Hernando y Compañía, p. 367
16. ^ a b c d Moliner, María (2007), Diccionario de uso del español, 3rd ed., Madrid: Gredos, p. s.v. docena