Where does “sixteen” come from?

Sixteen comes from Middle English sextene, from Old English siextīene, from Proto-Germanic sehstehun, a compound of swéḱs and tehun in Proto-Germanic, ultimately from Proto-Indo-European swéḱs meaning six and tehun meaning ten.

sixteen (English): The cardinal number occurring after fifteen and...

Definitions

  1. The cardinal number occurring after fifteen and...

Ancestry of “sixteen”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Middle EnglishsexteneAlternative form of sixtene
2Old Englishsixtīenesixteen
3Proto-Germanicsehstehunsixteen
4Proto-Germanictehunten
5Proto-Indo-Europeandéḱm̥tten

Words derived from “sixteen”

Every word from Proto-Indo-European déḱm̥t →Every word from Proto-Germanic tehun →Every word from Proto-Germanic sehstehun →