twelve
From Wiktionary, the free dictionary
Alternative forms
- Twelve, TWELVE
Etymology
Pronunciation
Noun
twelve
- (international standards) NATO, ICAO, ITU & IMO radiotelephony code for 12, used only with o'clock to indicate direction
| 120 | ||
| ← 11 | 12 | 13 → |
|---|---|---|
| Cardinal: twelve Ordinal: twelfth 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, dozenth Latinate fractional prefix: unci- Greek prefix: dodecato- Number of musicians: duodecet | ||
Alternative forms
Etymology
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
Numeral
twelve
- 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.
Synonyms
- twelveteen (nonstandard)
Derived terms
- feel twelve feet tall
- grade twelve
- it's better to be judged by twelve than to be carried by six
- twelve bar blues
- twelve-bar blues
- twelve godfathers
- twelve good men and true
- twelve hundred
- twelve-inch
- twelve-note
- twelve-ounce curls
- twelve-penny nail
- twelve penny nail
- twelvesome
- twelve-speed
- twelve-stepper
- twelve stepper
- twelve-step program
- twelve-tone
- twelve-tone technique
Related terms
- Ordinal: twelfth
Descendants
- → Japanese: トゥエルブ (tuerubu)
Translations
cardinal number 12
|
See also
Noun
twelve (plural twelves)
- A group of twelve items.
- Fractions would be a little easier if we counted by twelves.
- 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.
- (law, colloquial) A jury (normally composed of twelve persons).
- (slang) The police; law enforcement, especially a narcotics officer.
- (military slang, by ellipsis of twelve o'clock) Front (front side of something, position in front of something).
- watch your twelve
- For quotations using this term, see Citations:twelve.
Related terms
See also
References
- Hall, Joseph Sargent (1942 March 2) “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.
| ← 11 | 12 | 13 → |
|---|---|---|
| Cardinal: twelve | ||
Alternative forms
Etymology
From inflected froms of Old English twelf, from Proto-West Germanic *twalif, in turn from Proto-Germanic *twalif.
Pronunciation
Numeral
twelve
Descendants
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