twelve

[twelv]

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR twelve ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

a cardinal number, 10 plus 2.

a symbol for this number, as 12 or XII.

a set of this many persons or things.

the Twelve, the 12 apostles chosen by Christ.

adjective

amounting to 12 in number.

RELATED WORDS

duodecimal, twelfth, duodenary

Nearby words

Origin of twelve

before 900; Middle English twelve, inflected form of twelf, Old English twelfe literally, (ten and) two leave, i.e., two left over; cognate with Old Frisian twelef, twelf, Old High German zwelif, Old Norse tōlf, Gothic twalif; compare Lithuanian dvýlika; see two, leave¹, eleven

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for twelve

Grindr currently has twelve ‘tribes,’ and for some people this just is not enough.
Grindr’s Trans Dating Problem|David Levesley|January 9, 2015|DAILY BEAST
When twelve people are killed by violence, whoever they are, for whatever reason, that is a tragedy and a waste.
Trolls and Martyrdom: Je Ne Suis Pas Charlie|Arthur Chu|January 9, 2015|DAILY BEAST
This game is only two hours of what promises to be a twelve hour series, so there is plenty of time to get bigger and badder.
‘Game of Thrones’ Interactive FanFiction: Whoops, My Friend Was Speared in the Throat|Alec Kubas-Meyer|December 13, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Twelve incumbent governors who publicly support Common Core easily won re-election.
Why Voters Love Common Core|Harold Ford Jr.|November 28, 2014|DAILY BEAST

Heracles goes on his twelve labours, not to better mankind, but to achieve immortality and atone for his own sins.
The Walking Dead’s Luke Skywalker: Rick Grimes Is the Perfect Modern-Day Mythical Hero|Regina Lizik|October 28, 2014|DAILY BEAST
By her own personal strength her twelve children were brought forth, and her own sensitive fibres and tissues felt the suffering.
What a Young Husband Ought to Know|Sylvanus Stall
Twelve dollars a day was not too much to ask for board, room and guide services.
Double Challenge|James Arthur Kjelgaard
I staid in the house until about twelve o'clock and then came home.
Hydesville|Thomas Olman Todd
You were a girl of twelve or thirteen, going to school, and I never saw much of you.
The Captain's Toll-Gate|Frank R. Stockton
The principal work is his series of Lectures in the Royal Academy, twelve in number, commenced in 1801.
Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 11, Slice 3|Various

British Dictionary definitions for twelve

twelve

noun

the cardinal number that is the sum of ten and twoSee also number (def. 1)

a numeral, 12, XII, etc, representing this number

something represented by, representing, or consisting of 12 units

Also called: twelve o'clock noon or midnight

determiner

amounting to twelvetwelve loaves
(as pronoun)twelve have arrived See also dozen Related adjective: duodecimal Related prefix: dodeca-

Word Origin for twelve

Old English twelf; related to Old Frisian twelif, Old High German zwelif, Old Norse tolf, Gothic twalif

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for twelve

twelve

Old English twelf, literally "two left" (over ten), from Proto-Germanic *twa-lif-, a compound of the root of two + *lif-, root of the verb leave (see eleven). Cf. Old Saxon twelif, Old Norse tolf, Old Frisian twelef, Middle Dutch twalef, Dutch twaalf, Old High German zwelif, German zwölf, Gothic twalif. Outside Germanic, an analogous formation is Lithuanian dvylika, with second element -lika "left over."

twelve

noun

adjective

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RELATED WORDS

Nearby words

Origin of twelve

Examples from the Web for twelve

twelve

noun

determiner

Word Origin for twelve

twelve