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
- The cardinal number occurring after fifteen and...
Ancestry of “sixteen”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|
| 1 | Middle English | sextene | Alternative form of sixtene |
| 2 | Old English | sixtīene | — |
| 3 | Proto-Germanic | sehstehun | sixteen |
| 4 | Proto-Germanic | tehun | ten |
| 5 | Proto-Indo-European | déḱm̥t | ten |
Words derived from “sixteen”