sixteen English · revision 15175

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=inherited|attested=before 900}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: /ˌsɪkˈstiːn/^(Roach et al. 2011)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[inh|enm|sixtene]], [[inh|ang|sixtȳne]], also [[m|ang|siextīene]],^(Etymonline)^(MWU 2024)^(NODE 1998) from [[m|ang|siex|t=six]] (see [[six]]) and [[m|ang|-tȳne]], from [[m|ang|tȳn|t=ten]] (see [[-teen]] and [[ten]]).^(Etymonline)^(MWU 2024) Similar formations are [[ofs|sextine]], [[dum|sestien]], [[nl|zestien]], [[de|sechzehn]], [[goh|sehszehan]] and [[non|sextan]].^(Etymonline)^(MWU 2024) From the contracted form [[la|sedecim]] come [[it|sedici]] and [[fr|seize]].^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ The number, used with a noun: before 900.^(OED 1989) The abstract number is from about 1055.^(OED 1989)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ Sixteen without a following noun is from before 1225,^(OED 1989) and sixteen years of age from 1607.^(OED 1989) It also meant sixteenth (about 1400, now obsolete),^(OED 1989) a sheet folded into sixteen leaves (about 1606),^(OED 1989) and, in the plural, a kind of ale (1584).^(OED 1989) In western Scotland ''sixteen hundred'' was a fine quality of linen,^(Wright 1898) and in west Durham a sixteen was a slate one foot ten inches long.^(Wright 1898)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * before 900 – sixteen (with a noun).^(OED 1989)

+ * c. 1055 – the abstract number.^(OED 1989)

+ * before 1225 – sixteen alone.^(OED 1989)

+ * 1584 – sixteens, a kind of ale.^(OED 1989)

+ * 1607 – sixteen years of age.^(OED 1989)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Noun===

+ # The [[cardinal number]] equal to fifteen plus one.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # A numeral, such as 16 or XVI, representing this number.^(Collins 2023)

+ # ''(music)'' The numeral 16 as the lower figure of a [[time signature]], showing that the beat is measured in [[semiquaver|alt=semiquavers]].^(Collins 2023)

+ # The 16th in a set or sequence.^(AHD)

+

+ ===Determiner===

+ # Amounting to sixteen: ''sixteen tons''.^(Collins 2023)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[sixteenth]]

+ * [[sixteenmo]]

+ * [[sixteenpenny]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[six]]

+ * [[ten]]

+ * [[-teen]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}