ten English · revision 2610

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=inherited|attested=c. 725 (Beowulf)|origins=ine-pro *déḱm̥}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

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

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[inh|enm|ten]], [[inh|ang|tēn]], Mercian, West Saxon tīen,^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988)^(AHD 2000) from [[gem-pro|*tehun]],^(Etymonline)^(Hoad 1986) the source also of Old Saxon tehan, Dutch [[m|nl|tien]], German [[m|de|zehn]], Old Norse [[m|non|tíu]] and Gothic taíhun.^(Etymonline)^(SOED 2002)^(Barnhart 1988) It is from [[ine-pro|*déḱm̥|alt=*dekm-|t=ten]],^(Etymonline)^(AHD 2000)^(Hoad 1986) the source also of Latin [[m|la|decem]], Greek [[m|grc|δέκα|tr=déka]] and Sanskrit dáśa.^(Hoad 1986)^(MWU 2024)^(Barnhart 1988)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ West Saxon tīen: about 725, in ''Beowulf'',^(Barnhart 1988) and the OED's first quotation is from about 888.^(OED 1989) The Middle English spelling tenn is from 1311.^(Barnhart 1988)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ ''Ten'' is used vaguely or as a hyperbole for a large number, as in ''ten times'', from 1388.^(OED 1989)^(Etymonline) As the hour, ten o'clock, it is from about 1386^(OED 1989) or 1712.^(Etymonline) The biblical rules given to Moses have been the ''Ten Commandments'' since the Middle Ages.^(Cresswell 2021) The Texan ''ten-gallon hat'' is from 1919, and the ''ten-foot pole'' you would not touch something with is from 1909, earlier a forty-foot pole.^(Etymonline) ''Ten out of ten'', “perfect”, comes from school tests with ten questions.^(Cresswell 2021) ''Tenfold'' is from before 1200, from Old English tienfeald.^(Barnhart 1988)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * c. 725 – ''tīen'', in ''Beowulf''.^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * before 1200 – ''tenfold''.^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * 1311 – the spelling ''tenn''.^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * 1388 – a large number, hyperbolically.^(OED 1989)

+ * 1909 – ''ten-foot pole''.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1919 – ''ten-gallon hat''.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Number===

+ # The [[cardinal number]] equal to nine plus one, written 10.^(AHD)^(SOED 2002)

+ # A set of ten people or things.^(AHD)

+ # Ten o'clock.^(OED 1989)^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[five-and-ten]]

+ * [[tenpenny]]

+ * [[tenpins]]

+ * [[ten-four]]

+ * [[tenner]]

+ * [[tenpounder]]

+ * [[ten-speed]]

+ * [[ten-spot]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[tenth]]

+ * [[tenfold]]

+ * [[tithe]]

+ * [[-teen]]

+ * [[-ty]]

+ * [[decimal]]

+ * [[decade]]

+ * [[dime]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}