Where does “dozen” come from?
Dozen comes from Middle English dozen, from Old French dozaine, from Old French doze, from Latin duodecim, meaning twelve, ultimately from Proto-Indo-European dwóh₁, meaning two.
dozen (English): A set of twelve; A large, unspecified number of,...
Definitions
- A set of twelve; A large, unspecified number of,...
Ancestry of “dozen”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Middle English | dozen | — |
| 2 | Old French | dozaine | a group of twelve |
| 3 | Old French | doze | twelve |
| 4 | Vulgar Latin | dodeci | — |
| 5 | Latin | duodecim | twelve; 12; dozen |
| 6 | Latin | decem | ten; 10 |
| 7 | Latin | -nus | -an |
| 8 | Proto-Italic | -nos | Creates verbal adjectives from verb stems |
| 9 | Proto-Indo-European | -nós | Creates verbal adjectives from roots |