Etymology Explorer › English

Where does “ten” come from?

Ten comes from Old English tēon, from Old Norse tǫnn, from Proto-Indo-European dū-, dewk-, and h₁ed-.

ten (English): The number occurring after nine and before...

Definitions

  1. The number occurring after nine and before...

Ancestry of “ten”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Middle Englishtenten; plural of tothe
2Old Englishtēonto drag, draw, pull; to train, discipline; to...
3Old Englishtēohan—
4Proto-West Germanicteuhanto pull; to lead
5Proto-Germanicteuhanąto lead; to pull behind oneself, draw, drag
6Proto-Indo-Europeandewk-to pull, to draw; to lead

Words derived from “ten”

  • tenpence
  • tenner
  • tenpenny
  • tenfoot
  • tenpins
  • tenpin
  • teenty
  • tenscore
  • tenish
  • tenpounder
  • tenness
  • tensies
  • tenkey
  • tenpercentery
  • tenplex
  • tens
  • tenkeyless
  • テン
  • ten
Every word from Proto-Indo-European dewk- →