sixteen
[siks-teen]
- a cardinal number, ten plus six.
- a symbol for this number, as 16 or XVI.
- a set of this many persons or things.
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- amounting to 16 in number.
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Origin of sixteen
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018
Examples from the Web for sixteen
Contemporary Examples
At the age of sixteen these bad guys chase you, often under the amused and complicit watch of policemen.
My birth certificate was modified, I changed my name, and when I was sixteen I emancipated from my grandparents and my father.
Exclusive: Michael Phelps’s Intersex Self-Proclaimed Girlfriend, Taylor Lianne Chandler, Tells AllAurora Snow
November 26, 2014
Sixteen years later, his former best friend finally confronts him.
Sixteen have cleared the Judiciary Committee, 13 with unanimous support from members of both parties.
Sixteen seasons in, The Biggest Loser continues to be a ratings winner.
Historical Examples
We on the other hand cross the ocean in sixteen hours in a flying machine.
Ancient ManHendrik Willem van Loon
Hope to reach Israelite Bay to-morrow, as it is only sixteen miles distant.
Explorations in AustraliaJohn Forrest
There were sixty-four men, and sixteen or seventeen families.
The Exploring Expedition to the Rocky Mountains, Oregon and CaliforniaBrevet Col. J.C. Fremont
The prices of a few are inserted; sixteen blankets were sold.
A Sketch of the Life of Brig. Gen. Francis MarionWilliam Dobein James
The tower rises above the crossing, and is crowned by sixteen pinnacles.
Yorkshire Painted And DescribedGordon Home
sixteen
- the cardinal number that is the sum of ten and sixSee also number (def. 1)
- a numeral, 16, XVI, etc, representing this number
- music the numeral 16 used as the lower figure of a time signature to indicate that the beat is measured in semiquavers
- something represented by, representing, or consisting of 16 units
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- amounting to sixteensixteen tons
- (as pronoun)sixteen are known to the police
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Word Origin
Old English sextyne
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
© William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
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Word Origin and History for sixteen
Old English sixtyne, from siex (see six) + -teen. Cf. Old Frisian sextine, Middle Dutch sestien, Dutch zestien, German sechszehn, Old Norse sextan.
The age of the gods is always sixteen. Sixteen represents the number of perfection, of plenitude. In man it is after the sixteenth year that the first elements of decay begin to appear, and when the moon reaches the sixteenth digit it begins to decrease. [Alain Daniélou, "The Myths and Gods of India"]
From Latin contracted form sexdecim, sedecim come Italian sedici, French seize.
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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper