Jump to content

twelve

From Wiktionary, the free dictionary

Translingual

[edit]

Alternative forms

[edit]

Etymology

[edit]

    Borrowed from English twelve.

    Pronunciation

    [edit]

    Noun

    [edit]

    twelve

    1. (international standards) NATO, ICAO, ITU & IMO radiotelephony code for 12, used only with o'clock to indicate direction.

    English

    [edit]
    English numbers (edit)
     ←  11 12 13  → 
        Cardinal: twelve
        Ordinal: twelfth, dozenth
        Abbreviated ordinal: 12th
        Latinate ordinal: duodecimary
        Adverbial: twelve times
        Multiplier: twelvefold
        Latinate multiplier: duodecuple
        Germanic collective: dozen, twelvesome
        Greek or Latinate collective: duodecad, duodecade
        Greek collective prefix: dodeca-
        Latinate collective prefix: duodeca-
        Fractional: twelfth
        Number of musicians: duodecet
        Quantile: duodecile
    English Wikipedia has an article on:
    Wikipedia

    Alternative forms

    [edit]

    Etymology

    [edit]

    From Middle English twelve, from Old English twelf (“twelve”), from Proto-Germanic *twalif, an old compound of *twa- (“two”) and *-lif (“left over”) (i.e., two left over after having already counted to ten), from Proto-Indo-European *leyp- (“leave, remain”). Cognate with Saterland Frisian tweelf, tweelif, tweelich (“twelve”), West Frisian tolve (“twelve”), Dutch twaalf (“twelve”), German Low German twalf, twalv (“twelve”), German zwölf (“twelve”), Danish, Swedish and Norwegian tolv (“twelve”), Icelandic tólf (“twelve”).

    Pronunciation

    [edit]

    Numeral

    [edit]

    twelve

    1. The cardinal number occurring after eleven and before thirteen, represented in Arabic numerals as 12 and in Roman numerals as XII.
      There are twelve months in a year.
      • 1972, Eleanor Webster Bulatkin, Structural Arithmetic Metaphor in the Oxford "Roland.", Ohio State University Press, →ISBN, page 10:
        Hopper points out that duodecads have been prominent in every ancient civilization and cites as examples twelve spokes in the wheel of the Hindu Rta, the twelve gates of hell where Egyptian Ra must spend the twelve hours of night, the twelve tribes of Israel, the twelve labors of Hercules, [...]

    Synonyms

    [edit]

    Derived terms

    [edit]
    [edit]

    Descendants

    [edit]
    • → Japanese: トゥエルブ (tuerubu)

    Translations

    [edit]

    See also

    [edit]

    Noun

    [edit]

    twelve (plural twelves)

    1. A group of twelve items.
      Fractions would be a little easier if we counted by twelves.
    2. A twelve-bore gun.
      • 1982, Lawrence Durrell, Constance (Avignon Quintet), Faber & Faber, published 2004, page 880:
        In this way Von Esslin ‘inherited’ two fine hammerless twelves which he used once or twice for duck on the Camargue.
    3. (law, colloquial) A jury (normally composed of twelve persons).
    4. (slang) The police; law enforcement, especially a narcotics officer.
    5. (military slang, by ellipsis of twelve o'clock) Front (front side of something, position in front of something).
      watch your twelve
    [edit]

    See also

    [edit]

    References

    [edit]
    1. ^ Hall, Joseph Sargent (2 March 1942), “3. The Consonants”, in The Phonetics of Great Smoky Mountain Speech (American Speech: Reprints and Monographs; 4), New York: King's Crown Press, →DOI, →ISBN, § 11, page 104.

    Middle English

    [edit]

    Numeral

    [edit]

    twelve

    1. postpositive form of twelf
    Retrieved from "https://en.wiktionary.org/w/index.php?title=twelve&oldid=94594663"