undecim

Forms

ūndecim (indeclinable)^[1]

Etymology

It is from Latin ūnus (“one”) + decem (“ten”).^[2][1][3] De Vaan reconstructs the Proto-Italic numeral for eleven as *oinos-dekm or *oinom-dekm.^[3] The ⟨i⟩ of its second part is not well explained: a metathesis of the vowels would be very rare, and de Vaan thinks the numbers in -decim more likely took their -dec- from the word for ten and their -im from the ordinals in -decimus, such as ūndecimus.^[3]

Earliest recorded meaning

It is found from Plautus on,^[3][4] meaning “eleven”.^[2][4]

Semantic evolution

Cicero speaks of eleven legions, and Vitruvius and Martial use it in counting.^[5][4] Ammianus Marcellinus uses it as an indefinite number.^[6] Military diplomas recorded in the Corpus inscriptionum Latinarum write decem et unus instead.^[6] Medieval writers in Britain use it as before: Bede explains the eleven parts of twelve that make up the deunx.^[7] It lives on in Italian undici.^[4]

Timeline

• c. 250–184 BC – Plautus uses it.^[4][3][8]
• 81–43 BC – Cicero speaks of eleven legions.^[5][4][8]
• c. 390 AD – Ammianus Marcellinus uses it as an indefinite number.^[6][8]

Meanings

Numeral

1. Eleven.^[2][5][9]

Word family

• ūndecimus
• ūndecimvir
• ūndecirēmis

Related words

• ūnus
• decem
• duodecim

References

1. ^ a b c d Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
3. ^ a b c d e de Vaan, Michiel (2008), Etymological Dictionary of Latin and the other Italic Languages, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 7, Leiden; Boston: Brill
4. ^ a b c d e f Conte, Gian Biagio; Pianezzola, Emilio; Ranucci, Giuliano (2010), il Latino: Vocabolario della lingua latina, 3rd ed., Florence: Le Monnier
5. ^ a b c Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
6. ^ a b c Georges, Karl Ernst (1913–1918), Ausführliches lateinisch-deutsches Handwörterbuch, 8th ed., ed. Heinrich Georges, Hannover; Leipzig: Hahn
7. ^ Latham, R. E., D. R. Howlett, R. K. Ashdowne, et al. (1975–2013), Dictionary of Medieval Latin from British Sources, London: British Academy / Oxford University Press
8. ^ a b c Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
9. ^ Stelten, Leo F. (1995), Dictionary of Ecclesiastical Latin, Peabody, Mass.: Hendrickson