Where does “101” come from?

101 (English) comes from English one hundred and one, from English hundred, from Middle English hundred, from Old English hundred, from Proto-West Germanic *hundarad, from Proto-Germanic hundaradą, from Proto-Germanic hundą, from Proto-Indo-European ḱm̥tóm — ten.

101 (English): Basic, beginner, starting from scratch; An...

Definitions

  1. Basic, beginner, starting from scratch; An...

Ancestry of “101”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Englishone hundred and oneA great many; numerous
2EnglishhundredA numerical value equal to 100 (102), occurring after ninety-nine
3Middle EnglishhundredA hundred; 100
4Old Englishhundredhundred
5Proto-West Germanic*hundaradhundred
6Proto-Germanichundaradąa great hundred; a hundred
7Proto-Germanichundąa great hundred; a hundred
8Proto-Indo-Europeanḱm̥tómhundred
9Proto-Indo-Europeandéḱm̥ten
Every word from Proto-Indo-European déḱm̥